The Bloomberg report states Visual Arts Service Group was working on The Last of Us remake, and that work began around 2018. According to Bloomberg, the project was eventually handed over to Naughty Dog.
According, to the report, Michael Mumbauer’s group almost made an Uncharted remake instead, but the idea was canned when Sony realized it would be too expensive to make, especially with added design work. Instead, the team started work on The Last of Us remake.
However, because The Last of Us 2 was in development, Sony didn’t provide enough resources to support the team.
When The Last of Us Part 2’s ended up delayed, Visual Arts Service Group, went to work with Naughty Dog on the sequel. Then, once the game was finished, the PS5 remake of The Last of Us was handed over to Naughty Dog.
By the end of 2020, many of Visual Arts Service Group’s top staff left the company, including Mumbauer and game director, David Hall. The project is still in development at Naughty Dog with Visual Arts Support Group supporting the team.
Also in the report, it was mentioned that Days Gone studio Sony Bend had pitched a sequel to the game, but Sony wasn’t too keen on the idea. Instead, the team started work on a new Uncharted, which was also eventually handed over to Naughty Dog. The report states Sony Bend is now working on its own new game.
