The Last of Us PS5 remake reportedly in development

The Last of Us Ellie — (Image credit: Naughty Dog)

A The Last of Us PS5 remake is reportedly in development at Naughty Dog.

That's according to a new, extensive report which was published earlier today by Bloomberg. Chiefly, the report claims that a small development unit was set up at Sony Visual Art Services Group to work on a remake of The Last of Us, but that the development unit has since ceased being the lead developer on it, with the project being turned over to original developer Naughty Dog.

The report details how the smaller studio, which usually provides assistance to other Sony studios such as Naughty Dog or Insomniac, was denied additional funding by Sony to recruit for the project. The report also claims that this was because approval for the project was only granted on a probationary basis, with head of PlayStation’s Worldwide Studios Hermen Hulst allegedly unconvinced by the project.

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Furthermore, it appears the development schedule of The Last of Us 2 impacted the remake project, as members of Sony Visual Art Services Group were assigned to help Naughty Dog according to the report. After that game shipped, and Naughty Dog staff members were sent to work on The Last of Us remake, several key members of the original remake team, including Sony Visual Arts Services Group founder Michael Mumbauer, left the company.

The report alludes to the reasons why: "Mumbauer’s team saw this as their short-lived autonomy being stripped. Dozens of Naughty Dog staff were joining the project, and some had actually worked on the original The Last of Us, giving them more weight in discussions about T1X’s [the project name for the remake] direction." It goes on to state that members of the team who wanted "more independence" were left disappointed by the change in dynamics and that towards the end of 2020 "most of the T1X team's top staff had left."

Right now, we know little else about the remake of The Last of Us, aside from the report claiming it's still in development at Naughty Dog with Sony Visual Arts Support Group providing assistance.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.