I thought TLOU 2 Factions would be releasing Q4 2021 or Q1 2021. This may indicate that it could be a Q3 or Q4 2022 game perhaps.
I hope I'm wrong though, because Factions (Q4 2021), TLOU Remake (Q2/Q3 2022), New IP announcement (Q4 2022, releasing Q2 2024) seem like a much more exciting cadence.
Its definitely a 2022 game at the soonest now.
Who knows when we get the remake / collection. If ever.
And I don't know if they're gonna do a new IP. The studio head Evan Wells said they don't have multiple games in full development at once. Only 1 game at a time. I doubt they'd announce anything other than TLOU stuff for many years.
Many multiplayer games are GaaS, which means they keep releasing post launch content for a adding new content, features, fixes and tweaks. They may release this game this fiscal year and keep releasing stuff for it during at least a couple of years.
We know they have been working in multiple games during the recent years, and that the remake was mostly done in San Diego, and that their pitch was to release it in a bundle with TLOU2 PS5. So they could also release TLOU2+TLOU1R PS5 (and who knows if PC too) this year too, maybe next to factions.
We also know they are porting Uncharted 4 to PC.
On top of that we also know that while working on DG1 PC and the preproduction trying to get greenlighted Days Gone 2 and their new IP (the later was the one greenlighted), Bend did help ND with the TLOU Factions game and an Uncharted spinoff. When started to work on the new IP seems Bend left the Uncharted game.
We don't know if the new Uncharted spinoff was canned or if ND still works on it. We also know Druckmann wrote a first early draft of the TLOU3 main story but aren't developing it, he did it just in case they want to develop it in the future.
And I don't know if they're gonna do a new IP. The studio head Evan Wells said they don't have multiple games in full development at once. Only 1 game at a time. I doubt they'd announce anything other than TLOU stuff for many years.
He meant a full big production team working on a game. They had only one, now working on the factions game. But obviously they also have multiple small teams working on different projects because they won't have hundreds of people doing nothing during years.
Some people working on preproduction, concept art and prototypes for possible future projects (TLOU3, next Uncharted, new IPs...). Some other people working on porting stuff (Uncharted 4 PC, TLOU2+TLOU1R PS5 and maybe PC, who knows if Nathan Collection for PS5+PC).
They also have been growing and will grow a lot this year, if they don't have a 2nd big production team they will have soon.
I take a standalone faction mp over tlou remastered every day of the week.
But not if this slow down the developing of tlou3\new ip.
The factions game comes from the TLOU2 MP that ended being too ambitious and turned into a separate game, something similar to Lost Legacy, that went from a DLC to a standalone game.
The TLOUR has been mostly developed by the new San Diego studio, not ND. In the recent years Bend worked with ND in a Uncharted spinoff and Bend left the project, we don't know if they canned the game or if ND continues working on it. We know they ND did a first draft of the TLOU3 main story just in case they develop it in the future.
They are also porting Uncharted 4 to PC and seems that doing a TLOU2 PS5 version or patch. So maybe in less than a year they may have released:
-TLOU2 Factions
-TLOU1R+TLOU2 PS5 (+ PC port?)
-Uncharted 4 PC
And then to focus on the Uncharted spinoff if isn't dead, the new IP or TLOU3 plus maybe Uncharted Nathan Collection PC port (+PS5 version?) and to keep a small team for Factions post launch content.