Fumito Ueda, the game design maverick behind masterpieces like ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, aims to fully reveal his next game in 2023. Speaking as part of Famitsu’s annual New Year ambitions series, as translated by Gematsu, the genDesign head honcho and former Sony luminary said that his team “is working hard to be able to finally announce something, so please give us your support”.
Ueda formerly headed up the Team ICO division within Sony’s shuttered Japan Studio, but he went freelance during The Last Guardian’s infamously protracted development cycle. His studio, genDesign, has since signed a publishing agreement with Fortnite maker Epic Games. We’ve seen glimpses of the team’s new project, showing a translucent lady and a giant fist, but nothing too revealing.
You should probably expect the usual Ueda fare: thoughtful, provocative, innovative, and – dare we say – a touch pretentious. Nevertheless, having directed three of the greatest PlayStation games ever made, we’re eagerly anticipating his next project.
[source famitsu.com, via gematsu.com]
Comments 43
Queue the interminable wait comments. I’m all for a new Ueda game, of course. His history is superb.
I could not get on with The Last Guardian. I adore Ico and Shadow, but I hope he modernizes some of the controls. Last Guardian was so finicky. I just don't have the patience for that anymore.
Ooooh count me in! I loved Ico, SotC (particularly this one) and also The Last Guardian. Beautifully atmospheric stuff with some fresh gameplay beats
Last Guardian was a top 5 PS4 title for me. Their games are superb!
Loved ICO... Shadow of the Colossus was good. Last Guardian was great.
Whatever he announces is sure to be a great game for the PS6 or 7 sometime in the 2030's.
Finally! I’ve been wondering what the strange giant King Kong looking arm is!
Love Ueda’s games! Shadow of the Colossus is one of my all time favorite games.
Published by epic games you say so another battle royale with a battle pass lol
I hope this new game carries the same architecture as their previous games as their art design is absolutely spectacular that gives me otherworldly and mysterious feelings really creating an atmosphere that you can't get anywhere else!
I totally forgot about this. I expect it'll release sometime after the PS6 has launched.
I played and love all Ueda games. They are part of the Playstation identity. I will support anything they have been doing.
Ooh yeah anything Ueda works on I have to play. I loved ICO, Shadow, and Last Guardian immensely so consider me very much excited!
Love Ueda’s games. Funny story about Last Guardian though: the day after the title was announced, I preordered the game and paid in full at Gamestop. Well, years passed and the game didn’t come out and eventually I moved to my first apartment, forgetting all about the preorder. When I moved, I was desperately poor and couldn’t afford internet or purchasing any games, so any gaming I did was through library rentals. Eventually, I moved again and my life came together, as it often does when young people mature. By this time, it was a generation later than the preorder I had made. I had become a salary man and got back into gaming, thanks to the fact that I could afford games and got a Switch. In 2018, I purchased a PS4. A year later, I saw The Last Guardian at Gamestop, which I didn’t often shop at by that time, surprised to see the game I had wanted so long ago. A used copy was $8. When I brought it to the counter, I was told that I had finally picked up my pre-order and left with $52 in my pocket.
How coincidental; I just played Shadow of the Colossus and was wondering when we will see what Ueda has been up to.
His games are truly special, including The Last Guardian. I thought it was a worthy successor and was underrated/appreciated. Sure, the button layout was dated, but it didn't take long for me to adjust to it.
I just wish Sony would patch it to run at 60fps on PS5. The fact that it already can when installed from the disc without patches makes it all the more frustrating. Shadow could also use a PS5 patch. It actually runs worse on PS5 as there are graphical glitches. It would also be great if it could run at 60fps in the quality mode. This is one area where PlayStation repeatedly disappoints. Their approach to backwards compatibility is really inadequate, to the point that they're unwilling to update their own games to play better on PS5 unless there is a direct financial incentive.
The Last Guardian was fantastic considering it's troubled development. I didn't find the controls as tank-y as most people did and I adored the soundtrack and story. I truly hope for a 60fps patch one day. Yes I can play it unpatched but I'd be missing out on bug fixes.
Looking forward to what comes next. Hopefully no weird Epic stuff tacked on..
I'm all in for Ueda. That's the stuff I actually buy PSs for. Tough rumour said it might be horror which is something I'm not into and might skip it after all. Hoping the rumor is wrong. I miss Japan Studio
@somnambulance That story is awesome 😎
@Zaiyan Considering tbt studio is gone, you might be waiting a very long time for that patch...
You have my attention
The Last Guardian's platinum still remains in my memory. I've played Colossus more than 5 times.
Whatever it is, and whatever platform it’s on, I’m there day one.
Ueda is an absolute legend.
Ueda and Ken Levine are the types of game creators that I get excited for. I also love Suda 51, Kojima, Swery 65 and Hidetaka Miyazaki.
im sorry while great looking games i found last guardian was borderline unplayable and shadow of the colossus to be stylish but again annoying to control
@Suda51ueda and miyamoto
I own The Last Guardian but still haven't played it yet. Same for Shadow of the Colossus (original and remake).
I do recall trying to play ICO but was lost/bored at the time.
Shadow of the Colossus is like peak storytelling and world building. It’s my absolute favorite of the “trilogy.”
Only improvement I’d have made is filling the overworld with more stuff (the in between moments were a bit blank.) But I think it’s the perfect game otherwise honestly. It’s just absolutely beautiful in all aspects. What a love story…
Ico, Sotc and the Last Guardian are all so very high on my all time favourites list. I don’t even mind the extremely long waits between games, makes them feel more special and eventful.
With that being said I cannot wait to see this one.
Couldn't stand what I played of The Last Guardian, enjoyed Shadow of the Colossus quite a lot. So I guess this new project will be a bit of a coin toss.
I really enjoyed Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, but with The Last Guardian the gameplay didn't click with me so much. Whatever he makes next, it'll certainly be worth a look.
Fumito Ueda in 2023 ... At last!
@RudeAnimat0r The exact same for me, I barely got more than 4hrs in before I could take it anymore.
Is it just me or is anyone else getting Yu Suzuki vibes here? I feel like they're not going to annouce a game so much as a Kickstarter to fund the game. I Hope I'm wrong.
OK, yeah, if the console gets a cool looking Ueda exclusive, I'm getting a PS5.
Bring it on! These games are excellent
The Last Guardian was a fantastic game with great art style.
I also loved that they didn't literally tell you exactly what you needed to do after about 5 seconds of looking around.
I'd love to see what they can come up with on the PS5.
@3Above They have a publisher in Epic games backing them so it’s highly unlikely that they will need crowdfunding.
The Last Guardian was somewhat disappointing to me. However the pedigree of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus is such that I am more than happy to support Ueda with whatever he's doing next.
At least 5 years away by then I'll be 40! & won't be playing games so can't say it bothers me but I do like the previous games.
He has my support.
"Pretentious"...what??
Does this writer of this article know who Fumito Ueda is??
Who asks for support? Show us what you have and the support will materialize organically.
Oooh,I'll be all over this!
ICO is a top ten title for me even with its issues. Didn't like Shadow at all and Guardian seemed a mash of the two. Personally would prefer a remake of ICO than anything new. Or at least allow me to buy HD Collection for PS4
Another game? He only wanted to make 3. I've been a fan since the ps2 ico days still have the disc in my library and a ps2 to play it on. I'm all for this looking forward to hearing more.
I am so sad they never added the lost colosi on the shadow of the colossus remake. Such a shame.
TLG, Ico and SOTC all equal masterpiece. So whatever the next thing is this guy is cooking Ill buy.
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