Behind the scenes of major games, no less happens than on screen. In the case of the Uncharted series, any information about development problems immediately draws attention. The story of Amy Hennig's departure from Naughty Dog has been discussed since 2014, when Sony confirmed her exit while the studio leadership denied the involvement of Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley.
Now a new comment has surfaced. On the Kiwi Talkz podcast, former Naughty Dog designer Benson Russell spoke about an unnamed project that had been in development for about three years and was then harshly criticized within the company. According to him, an invited director from another team bluntly stated that the project was "weak," pointing to a lack of clear goals, chaos, and awkward controls. Russell did not name either Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End or Hennig, but his words align with the previously known story about a leadership change and the game being reworked.
This refers to the 2014 situation: after Hennig’s departure, the project was rebooted, and part of the material was reworked. This is exactly what many associate the described problems with.
This is where the most controversial part begins. The description resembles an early version of Uncharted 4 and the subsequent team change. However, there is no direct confirmation. This is another fragment of a well-known story, not its final explanation.
