Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Release Date, Story and Gameplay: Expect It for the Holidays

Feb 24, 2015 03:43 PM EST

When we reported on the Playstation Experience convention that occurred last December, we mentioned that Uncharted 4: A Thief's End was on its way.  The latest game in the action-adventure third-person shooter that will have all kinds of new combat and traversal systems, along with Nathan Drake's older brother.  The release date is TBA but should be available in 2015. Here is what we know so far with Uncharted 4: A Thief's End gameplay, story, and release date.

According to Trusted Reviews, the Uncharted writer Amy Henning has left Naughty Dog after working on Uncharted for over a decade.  However, the developer has stated that her departure will not affect Uncharted 4. 

We also have at least some of the storyline.  Uncharted 4: A Thief's End takes place three years after Uncharted 3, and suddenly Sam, Nathan Drake's older brother who was thought to be dead, comes in.  Sam has his life hanging by a thread, and is looking to find some legendary pirate artifact.   This leads Drake and Sam to some mythical pirate colony in Madagascar known as Libertaria, and in conflict with two rivals named Rafe and Nadine who also want the artifact. 

The gameplay also looks like it has been given an upgrade as the enemy AI has been "drastically improved along with the level design".  One of the big things is that Uncharted 4: A Thief's End could run on 60 fps, but now the company is kind of shying away from the feature.  Naughty Dog already had a hard time bringing that feature to their other video game franchise: The Last of Us

There is still no word on any release date of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but this Gamestop shows a release date of December 31, 2015.  In case you are not aware, that is essentially a video game sales website's way of saying that "it will be out sometime by the end of the year, but we don't know the exact date".  Final Fantasy XV has the same release date on Amazon. 

According to WCCF Tech, a recent posting on the Wal-Mart Sales site for Uncharted 4:  A Thief's End revealed a release date of October 1, 2015.  I checked the posting now, and it has changed to the usual December 31, 2015 date.  I'm not certain if the Wal-Mart date was an accidental leak or just a mistake. 

The fact that Sony wanted to highlight Uncharted 4: A Thief's End at The Experience last December probably means that they expect a release date by the next December.  What I expect to happen to Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is what will happen to a lot of games released before the holiday.  That is, they will appear at the Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3, an annual Los Angeles video game convention held in Los Angeles.  Uncharted 4 will be there for gamers to play, and then some holiday release will be announced.  The game will be exclusive to the PS4, and will cost about $59.99.