Rumors about Naughty Dog’s next project have been swirling more strongly ever since The Last of Us Online director revealed the spinoff collapsed just before hitting the finish line. While fans are gearing up for the upcoming sci-fi blockbuster Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, it’s starting to look like that’s not the only thing heating up in the studio’s kitchen. It may quietly have one or two projects simmering in the background. If recent comments and rumors line up, the recipe may be coming together for The Last of Us Part 3.
During the behind-the-scenes talk about The Last of Us Online, former director Vinit Agarwal revealed that Naughty Dog typically runs on a ‘leapfrog’ production cycle. That means the studio usually handles one game in full production while one or even two others are still being figured out, with teams gradually transitioning as projects near completion. The key detail, however, is that Agarwal confirmed he remained at Naughty Dog for another year before leaving to make his own studio after Sony canceled the The Last of Us Online project abruptly.
“I was at Naughty Dog for another year after [The Last of Us Online was canceled], actually. They made me a game director on one of their future games,” he said in the Lance E. Lee Podcast from Tokyo interview.
That mention of the leapfrog workflow is important. Neil Druckmann has been the one to direct Intergalactic shortly after The Last of Us Part 2 launched in 2020, meaning that project was likely already deep into production by the time The Last of Us Online was canceled in 2023. This is where things start to line up with long-running rumors from insider DanielRPK as well. In 2025, he claimed that Naughty Dog was working on three single-player games. The obvious one is Intergalactic helmed by Druckmann, and then there seems to be a separate project reportedly led by Uncharted: The Lost Legacy director Shaun Escayg. All that’s left for Agarwal to direct is a third unknown title.
Now, Escayg’s rumored project has been widely speculated to be something Uncharted-related. Especially after he shared a photo from Fort George in Trinidad for ‘research’ on Instagram, which gave people heavy treasure-hunting vibes. If this assumption proves correct, it leaves open the possibility that the other mystery game led by Agarwal could be something very familiar as well… like The Last of Us Part 3.
After all, Naughty Dog itself has confirmed that it’s cooking ‘more than one ambitious, brand new single player game’ during The Last of Us Online cancellation announcement. Adding fuel to this fire, Druckmann has also shared early The Last of Us concept art on Instagram with a rather suspicious caption, “Been a wild journey. Grateful for every part of it, especially the few stops that remain on the road ahead.”
It’s a bit vague, sure. Druckmann, too, has publicly sworn that Naughty Dog won’t be ‘The Last of Us studio forever.’ But paired with the studio’s multiple single-player projects in the pipeline, the potential success of the third entry of a highly popular series, and a mystery title once led by the director of The Last of Us spinoff, everything might just point toward another cordyceps outbreak. What do you think, are you ready to face the Clickers again?
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