“There Is No Point In Remaking Uncharted,” Says Series Original Designer

Uncharted Never Really Left, So Why Remake It

Naughty Dog is currently deep into Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, its first new IP since The Last of Us in 2013, but rumors of an Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune remake have persisted alongside it. Original trilogy designer Benson Russell doesn’t think that project should happen.

Speaking on an upcoming episode of the FRVR Podcast, Russell explained his reasoning by contrasting Uncharted with games that genuinely benefit from a remake. “System Shock, a remake of that now makes a lot of sense, because not just can you play it, but it had horrible key bindings, it kept a lot of people out of it from wanting to play it,” he said.

Uncharted, in his view, doesn’t have that problem. Despite its age, Drake’s Fortune remains playable and influential, with plenty of modern games still borrowing from its formula.

Uncharted as a thing is still in the zeitgeist,” Russell said. “There’s already a version you can play on modern consoles to get the experience. What’s the point of remastering, or remaking, it?”

Remaking It Would Mean Rewriting It

Russell argues that a true remake wouldn’t just be a visual refresh; it would have to become a different game entirely to feel like a modern Naughty Dog project, with slower, more personal character moments replacing the original’s lighter pulp tone.

I just don’t see the point of remaking it,” he said. “You’d have to rewrite the whole story to make it better, which means you’re going to change the spirit and you’re going to change the scenes and what the first one was about, right?”

That extends to specific set pieces. Russell pointed to the game’s well-known Jet Ski section as an example, suggesting it would likely need to become something more like a “motorcycle chase” on water to fit a rebuilt version of the story, raising the question of how much of the original would actually survive a remake built around modern sensibilities.

He also doesn’t think a remake would pull in new players, since Uncharted’s continued cultural presence means there’s little untapped audience left to win over. Instead of remaking Drake’s Fortune, Russell suggested Naughty Dog “take the lessons of Uncharted 4 and make a new game that’s in the past or wherever you need it to be,” giving fans something new with Nathan Drake even though his story already reached a chronological conclusion.

He drew a direct comparison to The Last of Us Part I. “I honestly thought the same thing about The Last of Us Part 1,” he said. “These are old games for a reason.”

A new Uncharted built on top of the original, he added, would feel “more like a cash grab than it would feel like anything necessary at this point.”

Where Things Stand

Whether a Drake’s Fortune remake actually happens remains unclear. Recent claims suggest a potential remake was shelved in favor of prioritizing The Last of Us Part I, though PlayStation’s heavy remake push this generation, including bringing in outside studios for projects like Until Dawn, means the idea isn’t off the table for good. For now, Russell’s preference is clear: leave Drake’s Fortune as it is, and put that energy into something new instead.