Although it quickly established itself as one of the best PS4 games, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End could have sent Naughty Dog into a real financial abyss. This was revealed by a former developer at the studio during an interview with KIWI TALKZ.

Gabriel Betancourt, who worked at Naughty Dog from July 2012 to February 2019, looked back on the turbulent development of the franchise’s fourth installment. In production for about three years, Uncharted 4 raised numerous concerns among PlayStation executives. Despite the series’ success, the company was reportedly worried about the direction the new game was taking.

Without naming her, Betancourt explains that Amy Hennig, the director of the entire series since the first game, was surrounded solely by people who obeyed her every command without ever challenging her decisions. After a thorough review of the project, Sony was so concerned that the possibility of pulling funding from the game was put on the table. A solution to the problem therefore had to be found quickly to improve the quality of Uncharted 4.

That’s when a director from another team at Naughty Dog, more specifically Neil Druckmann, who had just finished The Last of Us, was asked for his opinion. He reportedly stated outright during a meeting that the game was terrible, lacked direction, and had unintuitive controls. The result simply didn’t measure up to the previous games.

As a result, Hennig was fired. Uncharted 4 was then taken over by Druckmann and Bruce Straley, a duo who had just proven themselves with the incredible adventure of Joel and Ellie.