Naughty Dog is one of gaming's most prolific development studios, and naturally, fans are always looking for more information on its future releases. While fans may be aware of one or two of the studio's upcoming projects, Naughty Dog Co-President Neil Druckmann has seemingly teased the studio has 3 games in development.
There are two upcoming titles that Naughty Dog is believed to be working on: the multiplayer expansion for The Last of Us 2, and the remake of The Last of Us. Ahead of the game's release, Naughty Dog confirmed The Last of Us 2 wouldn't have multiplayer at launch, with many players looking forward to the evolution of the first game's popular Factions mode. In regards to The Last of Us Remake, the belief is that Naughty Dog is updating the original game with the mechanics and fidelity of its sequel for a new generation of players. As far as the studio's next fully unique single-player project goes though, there is a lot more ambiguity in that department.
A tweet by Neil Druckmann may be hinting at just how many games are in development at Naughty Dog. Druckmann quoted a post by Naughty Dog's official job-posting account with the coy message, "We're growing! Come join us and work on [shushing face emoji], [zipper-mouth emoji], and [hand over mouth emoji]!" The use of the different emojis suggests that there are 3 games in development at Naughty Dog. This is not the first time Druckmann's social media presence has stirred up theories about Naughty Dog's future developments, as Druckmann updated his Twitter bio in November referencing a certain formally unannounced game.
Eric Jensen, Design Manager at Bend Studio, joined in on the joke. The Days Gone developer responded to Druckmann stating, "Can't wait for [hand over mouth emoji]," to which Druckmann replied, "DUDE! NDA!" While Jensen is likely just playing into Druckmann's post in an attempt to stir up fan speculation, it is also reasonable to assume Jensen is actually aware of the projects being worked on at Naughty Dog, and may know exactly what hand over mouth emoji is referring to.
Previous reports and job listings have indicated that Naughty Dog is working on multiple AAA games, but based on this interaction, fans may now have a tangible number. If The Last of Us 2's multiplayer and The Last of Us Remake are taking up two of those three spots, that leaves just one more game that the studio has in development.
There is also the possibility though that the new version of Factions multiplayer is actually included within The Last of Us Remake, though that is just speculation at this time. Either way, Naughty Dog clearly doesn't have a problem with teasing its fans.