The remake of the first Uncharted was closer than it seemed, but The Last of Us pushed it out of production

Insider and data miner Thekempy says Naughty Dog once gave serious thought to remaking the first Uncharted. In 2018–2019, Sony’s internal Visual Arts Support Group reportedly put together a demo of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to tee up what an updated version might feel like to management.

The prototype zeroed in on the Sully plane sequence — Nathan and Elena flying to the island, getting shot down, then bailing out by parachute. That episode was ported into the Uncharted 4 engine as a proof of concept, e.g., to show modernized visuals and gameplay flow. Years ago, modders found related data inside the files of The Last of Us Part II, which indirectly backs up the demo’s existence.

Still, the project never got a green light. Devs reportedly decided the original needed far more than a facelift; it would have required rebuilding levels, reworking gameplay systems and even retuning the narrative direction — i.e., almost starting over. So Sony pivoted to remaking The Last of Us, which the insider says was less work overall.

Whether Naughty Dog circled back later is unknown. Thekempy thinks a remake of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune remains possible — esp. since there’s been no official word about a new mainline entry.