Ex-Naughty Dog Dev: 'Monolithic' GTA 6 and Elder Scrolls 6 Are 'Intimidating'

Ever feel like you need a vacation just to finish a video game these days? You're not alone. Matt Radford, a former Naughty Dog veteran who worked on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, recently admitted that the idea of a "monolithic" GTA 6 or another Elder Scrolls is "intimidating" to him.

Radford, who was a visual effects artist on some of Naughty Dog's biggest hits before opening his own studio called 5th Corner, shared his thoughts in an interview with Kiwi Talkz. "I'm 38 years old," he said. "And I think that there's also something intimidating to me about a GTA 6 or, you know, another Elder Scrolls. I, personally, am really looking for shorter experiences that are focused [and] that I have a great time with. That excites me probably more."

His reasoning is simple: time. A game that runs for 50-plus hours can be a massive time sink that many players simply can't complete. Shorter campaigns, on the other hand, can be enjoyed in a weekend or two. "Even The Last of Us 2, I thought, was so long… I really loved those earlier Uncharted games when they were like 6 to 8 hours," he added.

But it's not just about player schedules. Radford also points to the ballooning budgets of AAA development. Modern blockbusters can cost over $200 or $300 million to produce, and those costs might come down if studios focused on tighter experiences. That's a big deal for an industry where every miss hurts.

Still, Radford isn't rooting against the giants. "GTA 6 is gonna be awesome, I'm sure," he said. "And I think collectively as an industry we want it to succeed. No gamer will be happy if it failed because it would not be a good sign for the business." So even if he prefers shorter games, he knows the health of the industry depends on the big swings too.

In other GTA 6 news, the game recently showed Jason nude, and fans are wondering if Rockstar will go full Red Dead Redemption 2 with its physics. But that's a whole other conversation.

For now, Radford's take raises an interesting question: are you team epic 100-hour adventure, or team tight 8-hour thrill ride? What do you think? Will you be picking up GTA 6 regardless of its length?