Naughty Dog reportedly moved staff to The Last of Us remake because other projects are still in pre-production

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

Naughty Dog staff were reportedly moved onto a The Last of Us remake because they had nothing else to do while the studio's next project was in pre-production.

Speaking on the MinnMax Show, reporter Jason Schreier offered more information about his recent article which claimed that some Naughty Dog staff were working on the remake in tandem with Sony support studio VASG. When the host suggested that remaking the 2013 game was a waste of the team's talent, Schreier responded "but what else are they going to do right now?"

He went on to explain: "Neil Druckmann and some other creative directors go off in a room somewhere and say 'what do we want to make next?'... [Meanwhile] you have hundreds of people at the studio who don't have a lot to work on." Schreier acknowledged that a The Last of Us 2 multiplayer project appeared to be in the works but was unlikely to need an all-hands approach from staff.

Moving staff members who weren't needed for that to the remake provides that work, but Schreier points out that it also "gets them used to working with the PS5 which they haven't done before. It's something for people to do for the next year or so while the other things are in pre-production."

Elsewhere in the show, Schreier discusses the reported Uncharted project in development at Days Gone developer Sony Bend, stating that it was planned as a "spin-off" but is likely to have "disappeared" when the studio asked to be taken off the franchise.

Beyond the remake and multiplayer projects, it's not known what Naughty Dog has planned, but if the project is still in pre-production, it's likely to be a while before we get to see it. More than four years passed between The Last of Us 2 and the studio's previous major project, Uncharted 4, with three years between that game and 2013's The Last of Us, so it could be a similarly wait for the team's next big game.