Naughty Dog Veteran Says Remaking Uncharted 1 Would Be a 'Cash Grab' With No Real Purpose

Benson Russell, a designer on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves who continues to work at Naughty Dog, spoke openly in August 2026 about why he opposes a potential remake of the franchise's first entry. His comments came during a conversation with FRVR, and they were pointed — Russell doesn't see the creative or commercial case for rebuilding a game that players can already access on modern consoles. The remarks are notable precisely because they come from someone who helped build the original experience nearly two decades ago.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune launched on PlayStation 3 in 2007 and essentially redefined third-person action-adventure games for a generation of players. The title went on to influence countless studios and spawned a critically acclaimed trilogy, a standalone spin-off, and eventually a Hollywood film adaptation. For the better part of the last two years, rumors have circulated suggesting Naughty Dog might be revisiting the original game in remake form, though no official announcement has ever been made.

Russell used System Shock as a contrast to make his argument. He noted that System Shock's notoriously difficult key bindings created a genuine barrier that locked many players out of the experience — giving a remake real purpose. Drake's Fortune, he argued, has no such problem. 'There's already a version you can play on modern consoles,' he said, questioning what a remake would actually add to a game that is already accessible and still culturally present.

His concerns go beyond accessibility. Russell argued that improving the narrative to modern standards would require rewriting the story, altering set pieces, and ultimately changing the spirit of what made the original memorable. He drew a parallel to The Last of Us Part 1, Naughty Dog's 2022 remake of its own 2013 classic, implying skepticism about that project as well. For Russell, revisiting finished work without a compelling creative reason amounts to little more than a commercial exercise.

Meanwhile, Naughty Dog appears focused on its next original IP, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which has drawn enough internal attention that studio head Neil Druckmann stepped back from his role on HBO's The Last of Us television series to concentrate on development. Separately, hints from Druckmann about a possible Last of Us 3 have kept fan speculation alive. Whether a Drake's Fortune remake ever materializes remains unclear, but Russell's voice adds a significant internal perspective to a conversation that has so far been driven entirely by outside rumor.