Naughty Dog was forced to leave a major set piece on the chopping block for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End to avoid ‘shipping a broken game.’
That’s according to an interview at GamersFTW with Troy Baker, the actor who voices Sam Drake in the hotly anticipated PlayStation 4-exclusive sequel.
Baker told the site:
"Games are a very of an iterative process. There was a huge set piece in Uncharted 4 that I was massively in love with that had to get cut. Because it was either the game shipped broken and that scene is in there, or we put out a better game and that scene isn’t in there. And no one will ever miss what they didn’t know."
Baker’s knowledge of the set piece in question indicates he was heavily involved in it, and may have done motion-capture work for the scene. Sadly, we’ll probably never get to see what actually happened in the set piece.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is scheduled for release on May 10, 2016. The game is set around three years after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and everyday hero Nathan Drake embarking on a globetrotting quest for a legendary treasure once owned by the English pirate, Henry Every.
Naughty Dog has spiced up the nine-year-old Uncharted formula quite significantly this time around, offering larger areas to explore and enhanced stealth and brawling mechanics. The multiplayer has also been overhauled, featuring AI-controlled buddies and mystical items to wield against foes.
Uncharted 4 is the final chapter in Drake’s story, and will also be Naughty Dog’s final entry in the franchise. However, it hasn’t ruled out the prospect of another developer taking over the series’ reins in the future.
Check out the latest footage of Uncharted 4 here, which sees Nate, Sully and Sam exploring the wilderness of Madagascar.