The Last of Us Remake Reportedly in Development, and Days Gone 2 Pitch Rejected

Sony studios are reportedly working on a remake of The Last of Us, while Sony Bend begins work on a new game after an unsuccessful 2019 pitch to make Days Gone 2.In a new Bloomberg report into dissatisfaction among Sony’s lesser-known studios, sources say that a Last of Us remake codenamed T1X was started by Michael Mumbauer, the founder of Visual Arts Service Group (a Sony developer that traditionally assists development on PlayStation Studios’ games).

Mumbauer apparently assembled a new, 30-strong development group and – after passing on the idea of a remake of the first Uncharted game – settled on a remake of 2013’s The Last of Us. However, the team reportedly ran into trouble after Sony kept their existence a secret, and refused to offer extra budget. Head of PlayStation Studios Herman Hulst apparently deemed the project too expensive, and Mumbauer’s team was moved to support development of The Last of Us 2.

Bloomberg’s sources say that, after The Last of Us 2 was completed, Sony moved multiple Naughty Dog developers onto the T1X project, and the remake effectively became a Naughty Dog project. Mumbauer and other original developers have now left the company, but development on the remake is apparently continuing.

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As part of the same report, Bloomberg also says that Sony Bend pitched a sequel to Days Gone after the game’s release in 2019, but was rejected. Sony then apparently moved Bend developers onto two Naughty Dog projects – a multiplayer game (presumably the standalone Last of Us multiplayer game) and a new Uncharted project (which has also been rumoured recently).

Some Bend staff reportedly left as a result of having their autonomy taken away, and leadership allegedly complained to Sony and asked to be moved off of Uncharted development. Sony Bend is now apparently working on a new original game, but it’s not clear if this is Days Gone 2, a brand new game, or a return to another back-catalogue game.

Update: Eurogamer reports that its sources claim a Sony Bend-developed Uncharted game was planned to be a new chapter for the series, possibly a prequel, and was intended as something of a reboot for the series. It’s unclear if those plans have persisted with Bend off of the project.

There had been many rumours about a new Sony team in San Diego, led by Mumbauer, with many assuming that it was working on a new Uncharted game after it said it was developing in an “existing franchise”. However, it seems that referred to The Last of Us, with Uncharted’s future seemingly remaining under Naughty Dog’s control.

The timing for a remake of The Last of Us feels appropriate given the upcoming HBO series, which will reimagine the story of the first game, with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in lead roles.

Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.