Art in The Last of Us Part I leads to speculation over Naughty Dog's new IP

The Last of Us Part I released on Friday and players have spent the Labor Day weekend enduring and surviving once again in Naughty Dog’s rebuilt version of their classic game on PlayStation 5. Beyond marveling at just how good the remake is, players have also been combing over the game for showcases of that signature Naughty Dog attention to detail. This led fans to discovering what appears to be fantasy concept art on a bulletin board inside of a building, which some have speculated could indicate the developer is working on a new, fantasy-based title.

The PlayStation Studio does have a history of including Easter Eggs and hints at other projects in their games. In fact, Uncharted 3 included a newspaper article referencing a deadly fungus outbreak, which Naughty Dog later confirmed was a link to The Last of Us.

Almost nothing is known about what the developer is working on outside of the upcoming The Last of Us multiplayer game, which studio co-president Neil Druckmann said we can expect to hear more about in 2023. However, Druckmann revealed on-stage at Summer Game Fest 2022 that he is working on a new game at the studio, while sharing earlier in the year that Naughty Dog has multiple projects in development. Perhaps the most interesting piece of a would-be puzzle is that Naughty Dog senior concept artist Hyoung Taek Nam has multiple pieces of fantasy concept art on his Artstation page, which he later told IGN was simply fan art inspired by Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to find out what else Naughty Dog is working on, but the prospect of the studio moving beyond Uncharted and The Last of Us are certainly exciting. In the meantime, check out our review of The Last of Us Part I or watch the game’s launch trailer below: