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Uncharted Without Nathan Drake Is "Hard to Imagine," Dev Says

Naughty Dog isn't ruling out Uncharted 5, but says it doesn't know how the game would work without Drake.

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Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is the final game in the series to star franchise hero Nathan Drake. If there is to be another game, could it work without its biggest character? That's the question the OPM UK put to Uncharted 4 writer Josh Scherr. He said while he won't rule out the possibility of a new Uncharted game without Drake, it's "hard to imagine" how it would work.

"I think one thing that's been great about this series is that we have created this...I hate to use the word universe because Marvel's been overusing it, but we've created this world where ancient civilizations remain undiscovered and lots of charismatic and unscrupulous treasure hunters exist to go and pursue these," Scherr said, as reported by PlayStation Universe. "I suppose you could tell a story in that world without Nathan Drake, but it's...in some ways it's a little bit hard to imagine."

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Uncharted 4 lead designer Kurt Margenau said in June that he thinks fans will enjoy how the game wraps up Drake's story. "It's going to be awesome. It's Nathan Drake's final chapter, so I think fans are going to be happy," he said at the time.

Co-director Neil Druckmann has also talked about bringing an end to Drake's story.

"The first three games were the set-up, and if we were to do one more, how would we top it all off? How would we bring Nathan Drake's journey to a close? Everything we're doing [with Uncharted 4] is constructed towards that; bringing closure to a very long journey," he said.

Uncharted is a tentpole Sony franchise; sales have been strong with more than 21 million copies sold to date and a movie is even in development. Another game seems likely, even if it doesn't have Drake in the lead role. As for who might take over for Drake if there is to be an Uncharted 5, that remains to be seen.

How would you like to see the Uncharted series move forward without Drake? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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CrusaderProphet

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Seeing Nathan's and Elena's child in uncharted 5 as the main protagonist could be interesting.

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ELI4GREG

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Well this is annoying to read. A great team put together 3 great games for the series and originally sounded like they wanted to close out with this fourth game. But they're also entertaining the idea of yet another game in the series? I know Naughty Dog is confident in its ability to create amazing interactive worlds, so one has to wonder why they instead choose to continue to milk this cow. I SUSPECT A LOSS OF INTEGRITY and suggest that we should stop supporting this type of behavior from game companies. It's getting ridiculous.

And just putting this out there, if you need new, exciting material, I'm here, Naughty Dog.

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MonkeyWrench117

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Drake and the other characters are the "Uncharted universe". There's nothing substantial about the world itself. It's all about the characters and their adventures.

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Bubba_666

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Edited By Bubba_666

Yeah don't make it like Rocky, where he's brought out of retirement in like 3 movies. Let it go, give the people something new and fresh. I want this to be the last I play, and the last Tomb Raider I play as well. If you can't come up with fresh ideas and just keep rehashing out old sequels, you'll lose all your fan base. Don't be a fool Naughty Dog, and Crystal Dynamics. Hence why people (like myself) are sick of Gears, Forza and Halo..Bring Titanfall 2, Quantum Break, The Last Guardian etc. NEW things. Even though Titanfall will be a sequel, it will be for PS4 as well.

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rikku45

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As if Sony would stop making one of its best known games.

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deactivated-6085a0bd46474

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No. Please, just let Uncharted rest. Bad humour, bad gameplay, bad shooting, "vaults" have so much potential but it's just shoot fests instead of great puzzles. Actually, apart from Uncharted 2, I've never found a Naughty Dog game to be more than "alright".

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ughz

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@Keaze_: Thank you sir for being the only other person on here to acknowledge these facts.

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Goku1337Justin

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Uncharted without drake hard but not impossible it would be if drake had a child , maybe a girl , uncharted could survive without drake it just depends on the reason why there hunting treasure , everyone knows drake is following in his family foot steps , just tie in the next main character to the Royal blood line

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Sonyspot_lel

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Hard to imagine? I never knew this thing you call, "Uncharted", had any imagination at all. lel

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Avatar image for ughz
ughz

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@sonyspot_lel: +100 sir.

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Hurvl

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"I hate to use the word universe because Marvel's been overusing it" It was overused long before Marvel started doing it, just like the word "saga" and other similarly pretentious words used to make something seem more epic and better than it actually is.

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Azad117

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Edited By Azad117

They better not be foreshadowing drakes death!

Come on ND

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Slannmage

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Then end the series and work on something new, we don't need the series to continue.

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Razik

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Without the Uncharted franchise PS has nothing, Uncharted 5,6,7,8,9,10 will all happen

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spike6958

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@razik: People said the same thing about Crash Bandicoot, and Jak & Daxter. Naughty Dog will move onto a new IP and the world will forget about Nathan Drake and look forward to whatever goldmine they open up next.

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4KGamer_LMXXX

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No big deal. One would've thought Witcher wouldn't work without Geralt, but after ending Witcher 3. It makes perfect sense to bring a new character for future sequels.

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ughz

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@4kgamer_lmxxx: Spoilers sir, spoilers. Some of us have a lot of games and/or lives.

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bioswat

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Is it a spoiler to Nathan's death? Wtf Naughty Dog? Really?

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3D3

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Please no Uncharted without Drake.

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redeemer6666

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Edited By redeemer6666

Dudes chill, Look at my avatar, Then realize the truth, A game series can continue just well with an alternative lead character :D

Well...as long as said character is not named Raiden!

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Avatar image for ughz
ughz

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@redeemer6666: Considering the series didn't continue with Raiden and all fangirls like you did was cry your panties off when they introduced a new protagonist, no.

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redeemer6666

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Edited By redeemer6666

@ughz: Yeah but it could have continued with Raiden if everybody's reaction to him wasn't quite so piss poor and his character wasn't written as a lame no balls woman beating shit!

Tbh your the only one getting your panties in a bit of a twist, Calling me a fangirl because of your dislike at reading a slightly satirical, and friendly post.

Thought you was knowledgeable dude with a sense of humor lol, The jump to being nasty really isn't require with me, As i'm sure you'll know as I hear from you and correspond to you here quite a bit and always in a friendly manner. :)

I'm not hurt I'm disappointed XD

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Avatar image for ughz
ughz

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@redeemer6666: Woman beating shit, yea, that never happened.

I retract my vitriol then.

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redeemer6666

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@ughz: Yeah it did happen, I don't just hate on him for his looks or because its a "cool" thing for MGS fans to do lol

There's a particular codec conversation with Rose, Here's her exact quote!

"Do you remember that time I forced my way into your room? We'd known each other for almost a year... and you blew up! It was the first time you ever raised your hand against me! I was so worried about you..."

Implying there were more! That's only the first time!

Shit son, Raiden needs fucking Jesus XD

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cboye18

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Maybe now they can fianlly focus on a damn 3D platformer; A spiritual successor to Crash Bandicoot or Jak and Daxter would be great. The Last of Us is a great game but I don't think they should make it a series.

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Avatar image for ughz
ughz

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@cboye18: An actual platformer, yes please. Not a third person shooter with some platforming occasionally involved.

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ck02623

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So Nate is meeting his end? Maybe, maybe not. It would be fitting, seeing as he's a mass murderer.

Anyway, I love the character. Nolan North is outstanding. Who knows if it would have worked out as well without him?

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SAssessor

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@ck02623: technically it's not murder if his victims are trying to kill him too

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Avatar image for ughz
ughz

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@sassessor: Technically lol yes it is. Murder is still murder regardless, we're not talking about the judicial system.

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SAssessor

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@ughz: it's self-defense. It's survival. You sir, are a fool.

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Kiyosuyo

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So......he's dying in the new Uncharted?

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Gblazer01

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I do love the Uncharted series but I think - for the time being - after UC4, the franchise should go on a hiatus. I may be being a little too spoiled but I think ND should work on new IPs and maybe a sequel to The Last Of Us instead of a potential UC5 game. UC has run its course, and although it will always be a PS staple, i think it's time to put a pin in the franchise and give other potential IPs a chance.

While I'm here, I really hope Sucker Punch are working on a new IP. Infamous and Sly Cooper (when SP was the sole developer for the series) are amazing franchises; But like Guerilla Games is doing with Horizon: Zero Dawn, I want to see something NEW from SP and the rest of Sony Developers, and not just entirely sequels.

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