The PS4 essential Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection includes a remaster of the entire Uncharted PS3 trilogy but excludes PlayStation Vita spin-off Uncharted: Golden Abyss. After this weekend’s Eurogamer Expo, we now know why it isn’t a part of the package.
Community strategist Arne Meyer said that including Golden Abyss had been “definitely under consideration” during development when speaking during the EGX convention. Naughty Dog ultimately decided that Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Among Thieves and Drake’s Deception (the PS3 titles) would be sufficient in establishing the story for new and returning players ahead of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End next year.
Besides the card game Uncharted: Fight for Fortune. Golden Abyss was the only franchise entry developed outside of Naughty Dog’s studios. Speaking to Power Up Gaming, Meyer said that Golden Abyss “kind of lives a little bit outside” of the story. He basically said that Naughty Dog decided “the [PS3] trilogy actually provided a particular narrative arc that led into Uncharted 4.” Explains the exclusion from the collection.
You can look forward to picking up the Nathan Drake Collection come October 8, with a free demo available from tomorrow. These high-res updates to the PlayStation 3 classics also bring new feaures such as a photo mode to the seminal games. You can also net access to the Uncharted 4 multiplayer beta (December 4-13) on PS4 by buying it as well.