A decade after the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, a new retrospective report is shedding more light on the radically different version of the game from Amy Hennig that existed before Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley took over development at Naughty Dog.

According to recently resurfaced development details and archival reporting from YouTuber Michael Kemp (Thekempy), the original version of Uncharted 4 led by franchise creator Amy Hennig reportedly featured substantial gameplay and narrative differences, many of which were ultimately scrapped during the project’s troubled mid-development reboot.

If you have 90 minutes to spare, I highly recommend watching the entire video. It's genuinely fascinating.

Hennig, who served as creative director and writer on the first three Uncharted games, began leading development on the PlayStation 4 sequel shortly after the release of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception in 2011. Early concepts reportedly explored a much different direction for Nathan Drake’s final adventure, including expanded vehicle gameplay, new regions, and more grappling hook mechanics.

Narratively, it still would have focused on the search for pirate Henry Avery's lost treasure, but with some other major changes. For example, Nate and Elena's relationship was far less estranged at the start of the game, and Nate's brother, Sam, took on a more adversarial role.

Generally speaking, it would have been a more lighthearted game than the version that we actually got and, many would argue, more tonally consistent with the rest of the series.

One of the most discussed ideas involved Nathan Drake going nearly half the game without using firearms at all. The concept reportedly emerged as a response to long-running criticism surrounding the series’ “ludonarrative dissonance," or the disconnect between Drake’s charming personality in cutscenes and the massive body count accumulated during gameplay. Hennig’s team explored melee-focused combat systems intended to portray Drake as older, more restrained, and less reliant on constant shootouts.

Actor Todd Stashwick was initially to play Nate's brother, but was later replaced by Troy Baker, while Alan Tudyk had reportedly already recorded material for antagonist Rafe Adler before major rewrites changed the character and overall story direction.

Returning Uncharted character Charlie Cutter was also expected to play a larger role before being cut entirely from the final game.

The final game placed much greater emphasis on Nathan Drake’s relationship with his long-lost brother Sam, while also leaning into larger semi-open environments, cinematic traversal systems, and the more grounded emotional tone that defined The Last of Us.

Despite the turbulence, the released version of Uncharted 4 ultimately became one of the PlayStation 4’s biggest critical and commercial successes. The game sold more than 18 million copies and is widely regarded as one of Naughty Dog’s defining games.

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