Sony’s Jim Ryan has described the Uncharted franchise as a brand very much tied to developer Naughty Dog and an important part of the company’s portfolio, though stopped short of commenting on whether or not the series will continue following the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
"It’s an IP that’s very closely tied to that developer,” Ryan told Eurogamer at Paris Games Week. “That’s all I’ll say. It’s something that’s very special to us, and I think much of that specialness relates to the association between the franchise and the developer. It’d be a difficult step to break that association.”
Ryan was speaking in light of the multiplayer debut trailer for Uncharted: A Thief’s End during its press conference on Tuesday evening. The online companion to the upcoming action-adventure sequel will introduce a number of fresh ideas to the formula, including the ability to summon mythical weapons and call on the aid of AI-controlled companions to give you the edge in battle. The PlayStation 4 multiplayer has been confirmed to run at 900p/60fps, and enters its beta test in early December.
A Thief’s End has been heavily marketed as the final chapter in hero Nathan Drake’s story, and Naughty Dog has itself admitted that continuing the series without the cocky fortune hunter would be ‘difficult to imagine.‘ The cast have already finished up their motion-capture work for the sequel, with Nolan North, who voices Drake, wrapping up just a few weeks ago. Interestingly, the ubiquitous voice actor has claimed that the majority of Uncharted fans aren’t too keen on a movie adaptation of the popular franchise.
Sony will release Uncharted 4 on March 18, 2016, exclusively for the PS4. The game was originally due to appear this side of Christmas, although Naughty Dog ultimately decided to delay the release, partly in an effort to make sure the ending was done just right.