A Naughty Dog staff member has hinted on Reddit that the studio’s next release will be a science-fiction game called Savage Starlight.
The tease came during a Reddit Ask Me Anything, in which Justin Richmond, game director of Naughty Dog’s 2011 release Uncharted 3, was asked whether Nathan Drake would appear if a space-based game were developed by the company. Richmond responded with, "If only the Starlight wasn’t so Savage…"
The Last of Us was subtly hinted at with a poster in Uncharted 3–so subtly that it almost entirely missed before the game’s VGA reveal. Meanwhile, we’ve seen Savage Starlight comics in The Last of Us, and a website has been launched for a (presumably mock) Savage Starlight movie. Adding further weight to the theory is David Ballard and Jason Paul of Naughty Dog tweeting about the developer’s visit to private aerospace company SpaceX.
Naughty Dog’s history gives weight to the idea that they will be developing a new IP, whether that game is Savage Starlight or not. They have never taken a series across console generations. Whilst the popularity of Uncharted makes a sequel near inevitable, Naughty Dog probably has one of its teams working on a new IP. Time will tell whether this game is Savage Starlight, though the name’s prevalence in PlayStation conversation suggests we will see or hear it again soon.
Would you be interested in seeing Naughty Dog create a space-based sci-fi game? Let us know in the comments below.