Promotions at Naughty Dog hint at the start of an unannounced project

The Last of Us Part 2 developer Naughty Dog may have started work on a new unannounced project. 

A series of staffing changes late last year (spotted by Twisted Voxel) suggest that the studio's next title is already underway. According to their LinkedIn profiles, both Richard Cambier and Vinit Agarwal, formerly lead game designers on The Last of Us Part 2, were promoted within Naughty Dog to game director and co-game director respectively. Their new job titles line up with several other staffing changes between August and October within the company that saw long-time employees promoted into leadership roles. Most notable among those is audio director Robert Krekel, who says he was promoted to his new role on an unannounced project in August.

It's far from clear what this project might be. The only significant hint comes from Agarwal's profile, in which he states he is "primarily a multiplayer designer who has helped ship portions of Naughty Dog's singleplayer experiences in times of need." That could point to The Last of Us Part 2's multiplayer component, which was shelved in 2019. 

Back then, Naughty Dog told fans that the scope of that project had grown beyond what could be included alongside the single-player component, but that "you will eventually experience the fruits of our team's online ambition." It's possible, given Agarwal's multiplayer expertise, that the studio is getting ready to focus its efforts on that multiplayer component, but it could still be several years before we get to see the fruits of those labours.

While we wait to see what Naughty Dog does next, here are some of the best multiplayer games to check out in the meantime.