Rumor: Concept Art Emerges for Unannounced PlayStation Game

PlayStation Studios is rumored to be developing a new mature-rated action-adventure game featuring intense violence and potential profanity, as suggested by leaked concept art depicting two characters with hidden faces and clothing; the unannounced project may be Naughty Dog's next title, as teased by the studio's co-president Neil Druckmann, or could come from another gritty PlayStation development team known for their dark, grittier titles.

Unannounced PlayStation Studios Action-Adventure Game Unveiled

A reliable insider has shared some interesting details and concept art for an unannounced PlayStation Studios action-adventure game. It's currently unknown which PlayStation first-party team is handling this project, but if the alleged information is correct, it could be from one of the brand's most decorated studios.

Although the PlayStation 5 generation is about to enter its latter half, Sony has remained unusually tight-lipped about its first-party release roadmap for the remainder of the console's lifecycle. The company's last big first-party blowout was at the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, which ended up disappointing many due to its over-reliance on live-service game reveals. This was further amplified by Sony's lack of tentpole first-party exclusives for 2024, and the general silence around PlayStation's larger in-house studios has led to some concerns about potential development woes.

While Sony has scaled back on its live-service strategy somewhat, it appears game development at its first-party studios is otherwise progressing as usual, which was evidenced by a recently shared report by credible film and gaming insider DanielRPK on his Patreon account. Discovered by MP1st, the report focuses on a casting call for an unannounced PlayStation first-party title, specifically an action-adventure game that will seemingly have "intense violence and potential profanity." More interestingly, a reference image of two of the game's characters was attached to the casting call, with their faces and clothing concealed.

Speculation: Concealed Concept Art Potentially Linked to a Naughty Dog Game

The concept art snippets only show hair references for the roles of a salt and pepper gray-haired man between the ages of 40 and 60, and a brunette woman between 20–60 years old. While it's apparently standard practice to hide characters' faces for reference images, masking their clothing is a bit of an eyebrow raise, and may have been done to keep the game's theme a secret. It's unknown what the project is called, but it was described to likely be rated "M for Mature." Given the information, this project might be Naughty Dog's brand-new single-player game, as the studio's modern titles have had gritty and violent themes.

Further reinforcing this notion is the fact that the casting call went live in late May, which was around the same time Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann teased the studio's next project. Druckmann previously confirmed that Naughty Dog would release its new IP before The Last of Us Part 3, so the casting call might well be for this unannounced project. Conversely, it could also be for another PlayStation studio working on a similarly gritty title. It's difficult to speculate with this little information, but PlayStation fans are hoping for a Showcase in the coming months that may reveal more.