One would have thought that 60 fps gaming would become the new standard now that next gen consoles have settled into the minds of both players and developers, but sadly this might not be the case with Naughty Dog’s upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
The studio initially planned for Uncharted 4 to run at the much sought after 60 fps. This seemed perfectly doable, considering the hardware of the PlayStation 4 and the fact that Naughty Dog just put out the remastered edition of The Last of Us for that same console, which ran at 60 fps.
As development has gone on, however, Naughty Dog have apparently realized that even in this day and age, a silky smooth framerate for their much anticipated sequel might not be possible after all. Speaking of Game Informer, Game Director Neil Druckmann described getting the game to run at 60 fps to be “really f***ing hard.”
He continues: “”That’s true for any game. It was really hard on The Last of Us Remastered, and that’s a game we had finished and we knew exactly what the end result needs to look like. And here [with Uncharted 4] we’re trying to push the boundaries of what this game can look like; and do realistic, real-time cutscenes; and trying to do 60fps is really hard.”
When asked if the studio was still targeting 60fps, Druckmann said: “I don’t know. The objective for us is just to make the best experience. And right now we’re trying to push the look. Then we’ll see where we’re at and reassess. We’re constantly making choices to our production about what’s going to make the game feel best and look its best.”
Naughty Dog previously indicated that, although they were pushing for 60fps, they would prefer to cap the game at 30 if it meant a more consistent and smoother (if you can call 30fps smooth, that is) gameplay. Every Uncharted game made to date has run at 30 fps.
Shortly into development of Uncharted 4, Naughty Dog experienced a number of high profile departures. These included Amy Hennig, the Uncharted series’s creative director, game director Justin Richmond, and voice actor Todd Stashwick. Rumors were abound that members of the The Last of Us team, such as Druckmann, were responsible for pushing these veterans out, but Naughty Dog have refuted them.
At any rate, barring any delays, Uncharted 4 will be out sometime this year, but no specific release date has been announced just yet. You’ll just have to stare at Nathan Drake’s stupid grinning face (above) while you wait.