It was announced last November that Naughty Dog was already working on Neil Druckmann’s next game, but it wasn’t going to be The Last of Us Part III, as many fans had hoped.
While Naughty Dog is still keeping details on Druckmann’s next game under wraps, the studio may have just revealed one major collaborator who has worked on some AAA games for Sony before.
Raf Grassetti Joins Naughty Dog
As per his official announcement on social media, God of War’s principal art director, Raf Grassetti, has joined Naughty Dog to work on his next game.
Before joining Naughty Dog, Grassetti left Sony to run the art department in a now-defunct Netflix studio. According to Video Games Chronicle, Grassetti was working alongside Chacko Sonny (Overwatch) and Joseph Staten (Halo) on an original multiplatform game, but that was eventually canceled.
Grassetti is back working for a Sony-owned studio, but it will be a different franchise this time. Previously, he worked at Santa Monica Studio for 10 years before moving on to the Netflix project.
After several years of working on revamping the God of War franchise, it’s going to be great to see Grassetti take on a new IP. His art style does seem to lend itself pretty well to video game aesthetics, and he’s shared a lot of different fan art over the years.
What is Neil Druckmann’s Next Game?
It’s not confirmed exactly what Grassetti’s project with Naughty Dog will be, but seeing as he has a very different art style than The Last of Us, it’s possible that he’s being brought into Druckmann’s new game, which is said to be a completely new IP.
Not much has been revealed about the title, but it’s said to be fantasy—a genre we know Grassetti is well versed in—and will focus on ‘player freedom.’ It’s also no surprise that Troy Baker (The Last of Us) is attached to star in the game, but it’s unclear if he will be the lead again.
Trust the Druck
Though some naysayers weren’t fans of The Last of Us Part II's direction, Druckmann has now given himself the reputation of being a masterful director of narrative-driven games. Not only does he deliver compelling stories, but he also does a very interesting meta-narrative that plays on players’ ability to make decisions in-game.
With a whole new gen of consoles on hand, fans are curious about what kind of new game Naughty Dog will deliver. After the hyper-realism of Uncharted and The Last of Us, it wouldn’t be surprising if the series returned to its Crash Bandicoot roots and offered a new kind of fantasy.
Then again, this is just speculation. Until ND reveals anything, all fans can do is guess.
Druckmann’s next game hasn’t been officially announced, but hopefully, fans will get an update during The Game Awards later this month.