Uncharted dev: "I don't think mobile development is the future"

Many developers are looking to the mobile space for future projects, but don't expect Uncharted and The Last of Us creator Naughty Dog to join their ranks. Speaking during a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, Naughty Dog's Bruce Straley called for diversity in gaming experiences.

"I don't think mobile development is the future. And I don't think the industry as a whole should put all their eggs into any ONE basket (nor do I think they are honestly)," Straley said. "We need diversity. We need indie games, mid-tier games, AAA games, and mobile."

Straley's comments came in response to a fan who suggested the worldwide development scene was increasingly moving towards the mobile market as the AAA market caves in. Straley said he's not sure this is going to happen.

"Well, first off there's a lot of assuming & hypothesizing there--IS the AAA market bubble going to burst? No one knows right? But yes, I do think there is an opportunity for devs to create the 'Journeys' and 'Rayman Legends' that occupy that mid-tier, really well executed, fun games that GAMERS will buy," Straley said.

Finally, Straley said Naughty Dog could, in theory, make a great game without a AAA budget. However, don't expect Naughty Dog to do this because it probably would not make business sense, he said.

"The next question would have to be 'can that kind of game then support a studio of our size, with the talent we have??' hmmm.... doubtful?? I'm no business man, but we've built the studio on being able to turn out a certain level of quality games, that our fans have grown to love & look to us for," Straley said.

Also during the Reddit AMA, The Last of Us creative director Neil Druckmann said there is a 50/50 shot that Naughty Dog will make a sequel. The studio has (at least) two internal development teams, one of which is currently working on Uncharted 4 for the PlayStation 4.