PS5 Remake of The Last of Us Remake is Under Works
The Last of Us could be coming to PlayStation 5. At least that's what reports from Bloomberg claim, according to which the remake, while not officially revealed, has a rich history behind it.
New reports by Jason Schreier have brought with them interesting information about Sony's intentions. In the recent article published by Bloomberg there was, among others, a mention of the remake of The Last of Us, which allegedly already has a turbulent development history.
- Jason Schreier reports that a remake of The Last of Us is being worked on;
- The project, codenamed T1X, began its life as the work of Visual Arts Service Group, which supports other Sony Interactive Entertainment's studios;
- Eventually, after much turbulence, Naughty Dog took over the project.
The project was supposed to begin its life as an initiative of Visual Arts Service Group, which has been assisting Sony Interactive Entertainment's studios with video game development for years. However, Michael Mumbauer, who led the group, had bigger ambitions. He assembled a group of about 30 developers from his own and other teams within Sony and established a new "studio" ("development unit") with a single purpose: to thoroughly revamp a classic SIE game. Initially, the developers' sights were set on the first installment of Uncharted, but it soon became apparent that they would have neither the resources nor the time needed to design a remake.
So Mumbauer's choice fell on the original The Last of Us. In comparison to Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the first installment of Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic story is a relatively fresh title. As such, it wouldn't require drastic changes to the gameplay, and once the project is complete and the devs gain some recognition, they could take on the first installment of Uncharted as well as other projects.
Of course, it could not be that simple. Yes, Sony approved the project (known by the codename T1X) for a trial period. However, Mumbauer's team did not receive much support from the company, and its existence was kept a secret. What's more, in late 2019, Hermen Hulst (newly appointed as head of SIE Worldwide Studios) deemed the project too expensive, especially when compared to the company's previous remakes. This was due to using a new engine for PlayStation 5, which would have required Mumbauer to hire more people to redesign both the visuals and gameplay.
Then there were other complications. The developers had to help Naughty Dog finish The Last of Us: Part II (which was then delayed), which took them away from T1X. Sony then announced that devs at Naughty Dog would assist Mumbauer's team once work on the second TLoU was completed. It quickly became clear that the fathers of the franchise had taken the reins and Visual Arts Service Group was once again just a back-up to the larger studio. As a result, Mumbauer, along with many other T1X devs, left the "development unit" before the end of 2020.
Leaving aside the fate of Mumbauer's team (which, according to Schreier, illustrates the unhappy reality of new developers within Sony Interactive Entertainment), the article reveals nothing about alleged The Last of Us remake. Given the history of the project and the current impediments (read: COVID-19), T1X may still be in the very early stages of development. The only relatively solid information concerns adjusting the visuals and gameplay to match what we know from The Last of Us: Part II.
