‘We’re Going to Pull Funding if You Don’t Fix This’: Uncharted 4 Was Almost Cancelled on PS4 Because It ‘Sucked’

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We all know Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was a troubled project.

The game was first revealed when the PS4 launched, with Amy Hennig leading development. However, she departed Naughty Dog a few years later, and Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley – the team behind The Last of Us – were brought in to take over and complete the project.

Okay, so I just read an interview with one of the lighting artists on the game, Gabriel Betancourt, and honestly, it’s painting a pretty grim picture of how much trouble the development was in. He’s finally giving us some real insight into just how badly things were messed up behind the scenes.

He remembers Sony threatening to withdraw funding if the issues weren’t resolved.

I think it’s worth noting that Betancourt never actually names Uncharted 4 or calls out anyone specifically. But, knowing he worked on the game, and hearing him refer to the ‘fourth project’ in a really successful series… it’s pretty clear what he’s talking about, right?

Speaking with Kiwi Talkz in a YouTube interview, he remembers:

I recall working on a game prototype – I won’t name it – that had been in development for nearly three years. Despite the franchise’s previous success, corporate started to have doubts about the project. The team leader, however, was surrounded by people who always agreed with them, and they were still riding high on the success of their previous work as they began this fourth project.

Someone else reviewed the project and gave it a very negative assessment, saying it was terrible. This upset Sony, who responded by hinting they might cancel the game altogether.

Betancourt continues:

Management was very concerned and threatened to cut funding if the issues weren’t resolved. Because of this, the original project director, despite a history of success, was removed and replaced with a more critical team member and two others to try and correct the problems. This meant the game had to be largely rebuilt. After two and a half to three more years of work – bringing the total development time to five or six years – the game was finally successful.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was a huge hit for both Sony and Naughty Dog, receiving a score of 93 on Metacritic and selling many millions of copies worldwide.

Soon after, Straley left the company, explaining that he was experiencing burnout and high levels of stress.

It’s remarkable to realize how close the studio was to failure – a poorly received game from Naughty Dog, considering their history, was almost impossible to imagine. It’s also impressive how Druckmann and Straley managed to reverse the studio’s declining fortunes.

While Uncharted: The Lost Legacy came out as a separate adventure later on, the series hasn’t had a new installment since.

Shaun Escayg, who previously directed an Uncharted game, hinted at a new project on Instagram earlier this year, suggesting that more Uncharted games could be coming.

We’re curious if the early Uncharted 4 prototype will ever be revealed. We’d like to understand what issues it had and why people at the studio and Sony reacted to it so strongly.

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2026-04-27 21:22