The Last of Us director and Naughty Dog president Neil Druckmann has described the studio's next project as "really ambitious" and is under no illusion that bringing it to life will be easy.
Having pulled the plug on its mysterious multiplayer project, The Last of Us Online, Naughty Dog is now firmly focused on single-player games and currently has "more than one" in the works. The studio is keeping its cards close to its chest regarding what its next game will be - with no confirmation yet on whether or not it will be The Last of Us Part 3 - but Druckmann has provided a slither of information regarding the project and its development.
In an interview with Logically Speaking, Druckmann describes the project as "really ambitious" but says that aspects of its creation are "really hard" on him and the team. "I've really surrendered to knowing it's going to be really hard, knowing it's going to stress members of the team out," he says, adding that he strives for ways to make it a "joyous experience" for him and everyone else.
Neil Druckmann talks about Naughty Dog's Next Game which is really ambitious and parts of it are hard to make! pic.twitter.com/IqY2KEI1GbMarch 1, 2024
As Druckmann then explains, much of his happiness comes from guiding the team and listening to their ideas and vision for the game. He says he's particularly proud of the contributions from The Last of Us Part 2 co-game director Kurt Margenau.
"He recently did something on this new game and really stepped up and gave this impassioned pitch, and I was just so proud," Druckmann says. "Seeing other people rise to the occasion and surprising me in these really beautiful ways. These days I get a lot of joy out of that and helping mentor people and seeing them express themselves through art."
While Druckmann is still very much at the helm of Naughty Dog's upcoming projects, that may not be the case in the long term as the developer recently said he doesn't have many games "at this scale" left in him.
Last week, Naughty Dog, along with other prominent PlayStation studios, including Guerrilla Games and Insomniac, were affected by layoffs as Sony announced it was laying off 900 workers worldwide. PlayStation London is to be shut down entirely, and several unannounced projects have also been canned.
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