Neil Druckmann Claims Comments of Next Naughty Dog Game 'Redefining' the Mainstream View of Gaming Was a Sony Misquote | Push Square

01.06.2024 - 01:51 / pushsquare.com / Derby County / Neil Druckmann / Sony

Neil Druckmann, the co-studio head of The Last of Us, Uncharted creator Naughty Dog, has pushed back on comments he supposedly made in a recent Sony interview released alongside this week's Corporate Strategy Meeting. Druckmann is quoted as saying the developer's next first-party title could «redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming», but he says on Twitter he never actually said that. Like, at all.

Druckmann explained that Sony edited his «rambling answers» to the questions presented, meaning «some of my words, context, and intent were unfortunately lost». He then presents his complete answer to the question in a tweet, as seen in the post below.

Scanning his entire answer, Druckmann quite literally never uses the sentence he's quoted as saying. In the published interview, it is written: «I'm eager to see how this new game resonates, especially following the success of The Last of Us, as it could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming.»

The closest he comes to saying something along those lines would be just after Druckmann comments on the success of HBO's TV adaptation of The Last of Us and the recent Fallout TV show on Amazon Prime. He says: «I think right now we've hit a tipping point where it's about to take off where people realize 'Oh my god, there's all these incredible moving experiences in games!' So, I'm not only excited for this new game that we're making — and it's something really fresh for us — but I'm also excited to see how the world reacts to it.»

He continues: «Because of The Last of Us, and the success of the show, people even outside of gaming are looking at us to see what it is that we put out next. I'm very excited to see what the reaction for this thing will be — and I've already said too much about it. I'll stop there.»

What the new project at Naughty Dog is remains a mystery for now, but we know the developer has at least two single player games in the works following the cancellation of The Last of Us Multiplayer. It's possible The Last of Us 3 is one of them after Neil Druckmann said he now has a concept for a third game, but it's unlikely to be what Naughty Dog puts out next.

What do you make of this latest development? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Liam grew up with a PlayStation controller in his hands and a love for Metal Gear Solid. Nowadays, he can be found playing the latest and greatest PS5 games as well as supporting Derby County. That last detail is his downfall.

Honestly, it’s pretty shady of Sony to mince words. Nobody needs to convince others to play or watch Neil’s stuff

The real question is if whether The Last Of Us Part 3 / Finale releases before the end of this generation.

Not that big of a deal.
Even if he would have said it like that,