By The freshly launched outfit established by ex-Naughty Dog veterans Vinit Agarwal and Joe Pettinati is setting out to fuse big-budget cinematic spectacle on par with the Dog’s pedigree with a narrative vibe lifted straight from Breaking Bad—all while delivering a multiplayer experience.
Now steering a scrapped project once known as The Last of Us Online, Agarwal exited Naughty Dog earlier this year to chase solo game creation in Japan. While Pettinati continues to operate Stateside, the two are tag-teaming on their as-yet-untitled studio’s first project.
Up to this point the only certainty was that the project would be multiplayer; we haven’t learned a heap more just yet. In a chat with Game Spark (via Automaton), Agarwal let drop a couple of morsels that outline the game’s core philosophy.
Via machine translation, Agarwal noted, “Naughty Dog left a huge imprint on us in how they shape worldview and storytelling,” stressing that with this venture, “it’s vital not only to craft engaging mechanics but to balance narrative, action, lore, and gameplay on an equal footing.”
He emphasized the goal to “introduce the cinematic spectacle we engineered in prior titles into the realm of player-versus-player encounters.” Agarwal branded the initiative a “triple-indie,” marrying AAA polish gained at his former studio with the swift, punchy rhythm typically found in indie production.
Crucially, Agarwal explained that relocating to Japan stemmed from long-held admiration for Japanese creators and their “robust ‘vision’,” sharing that a recent conversation with FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki reinforced his love for “a director who drives with an unyielding vision.”
Breaking Bad serves as another touchstone; Agarwal praised it for “its layered plot and compelling character motivations”.
“Put simply, the aim is a title filled with rich characters and a storyline in the vein of Breaking Bad, juiced by the darker-yet-playful tone found in many Japanese works,” he summed up.
While further specifics remain locked away, Agarwal did confirm the game has been in the works for a handful of months and is “already playable,” with internal playtests slated to begin very soon.
With scant concrete details, it’s anyone’s guess how the project will ultimately evolve, yet the pedigree is undeniable: a decade at Naughty Dog lifted Agarwal from junior designer to game director on The Last of Us Online, while Pettinati also logged ten years at the studio.