The new studio founded by former Naughty Dog developers Vinit Agarwal and Joe Pettinati is aiming to blend Naughty Dog-level cinematic action and a Breaking Bad-influenced story into a multiplayer game.
After leading development on the now-scrapped Last of Us Online, Agarwal left Naughty Dog earlier this year to pursue independent game development in Japan. Although Pettinati is still US-based, the duo are working together on their still unnamed studio’s debut title.
All we’ve known about the game at this point is that it’s multiplayer, and we still don’t know much more today, but in an interview with Game Spark (via Automaton), Agarwal spared us a few bread crumbs on the basic ethos behind the game.
Agarwal, via machine translation, said “Naughty Dog has had a strong influence on us in terms of their approach worldview and story,” and with this new game, “it’s important not just to create interesting gameplay, but to ensure that the story, action, worldview, and gameplay are all on the same level.”
Specifically, Agarwal said “we aim to bring the cinematic action familiar from our previous works to the multiplayer between players.” He also labeled the game a “triple-indie,” with the story and gameplay being influenced by the developers’ time at a AAA studio but with the “fast-paced feel” of an indie game.
Notably, Agarwal said he moved to Japan because he’s always had a deep respect for Japanese developers and what he called a “strong ‘vision’,” adding that he recently spoke to FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki and “was reminded once again that I like the style of a director with a strong vision.”
Another influence on Agarwal is Breaking Bad, which he said he likes because “the story is deep and the characters’ motivations are interesting.”
“In other words, what I want to create is a game with deep characters and a story like ‘Breaking Bad,’ with a touch of the dark themes mixed with lighter aspects that are common in Japanese works,” he said.
Agarwal wasn’t ready to share anything more about the game itself, but he did reveal that it’s been in development for a few months and is “already playable,” with playtesting happening “in the near future.”
With so little to go on, it’s hard to say what form will eventually materialize from Agarwal and Pettinati’s new studio, but they definitely have the experience to back up their lofty ambitions. Agarwal spent a decade at Naughty Dog and went from junior designer to game director on The Last of Us Online, while Pettinati also spent 10 years at the studio, going from editor to creative director.
In the meantime, here are the best PS5 games you can play right now.
