Naughty Dog is reportedly prioritizing player freedom for its next game, as per a reliable insider. The award-winning studio is currently working on a new single-player IP, and it might just deviate from previous Naughty Dog games in a big way.

Ever since its establishment in 1984, Naughty Dog has birthed some of the greatest franchises in the games industry, especially under the PlayStation umbrella. Unfortunately, though, the decorated studio has faced a bit of turbulence in recent years. Many Naughty Dog fans have expressed frustration over the studio releasing nothing but remakes and remasters since the PS5's launch in late 2020. The cancelation of the Last of Us Online project last year further threw a wrench in the works for Naughty Dog's release schedule.

Every Naughty Dog Video Game Franchise, Ranked

Naughty Dog has remained extremely iconic in the gaming scene for decades, and their expertly crafted franchises are some of the best out there.

While it's been known for some time that Naughty Dog is developing a brand-new IP, details on the highly-anticipated project have been extremely scarce. However, The MinnMax Show host Ben Hanson may have dropped a valuable nugget of information about Naughty Dog's new IP. In the latest episode of the podcast, Hanson mentioned hearing from "somebody very in the know" that Naughty Dog's next game will be "amazing" and will feature "a lot of player freedom." Hanson's source apparently compared it to a specific game as well, but he refrained from revealing this information during the episode, likely to protect the source.

Naughty Dog's Next Game Might Draw Inspiration from Elden Ring

Interestingly, a 2023 interview with Neil Druckmann revealed that the Naughty Dog boss is intrigued by Elden Ring's storytelling format, which relies more on environmental subtext and less on cinematics and dialogue. Elden Ring is also a shining example of a game that offers an overwhelming amount of choice and freedom to players. If Naughty Dog's next game is indeed taking design cues from Elden Ring, then fans can expect a much more open-ended and unrestricted adventure compared to the likes of Uncharted and The Last of Us.

The rumor is rather vague in nature, and fans should take it with a grain of salt. The scope of player freedom isn't elaborated upon here, so it wouldn't be prudent to expect the next Naughty Dog game to be as expansive and open as Elden Ring based on Druckmann's comments. Still, there's a lot of excitement about what Naughty Dog's new IP will bring, and it seems the studio could be venturing into several unknown territories for it.