- Uncharted 5 locations remain unconfirmed — Naughty Dog has not announced the game.
- Series history: each entry is built around one legendary lost city or treasure.
- Top fan picks: Madagascar-style ruins, Southeast Asia, and the Arctic rank highest.
- Likely direction: a new-generation protagonist (Cassie Drake) opens fresh regions.
- Best prep: replay the Legacy of Thieves Collection on PS5 or PC to study the map design.
Uncharted 5 Locations: What We Know So Far
No official Uncharted 5 locations have been revealed, because Naughty Dog has not yet announced the game at all. The studio's current announced project is Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and leadership has said only that the Uncharted universe "could return someday" when there is a story worth telling. That leaves the community to speculate — and location speculation is where Uncharted fans do their best work.
Every mainline Uncharted game is anchored to a real-world region and a legendary lost destination. That formula gives us a reliable framework for predicting where a fifth adventure could go.
Everything in this article about future locations is fan theory and industry speculation, not confirmed fact. Treat every rumored setting as a theory until Naughty Dog or Sony makes an official announcement.
Every Location the Series Has Already Visited
Understanding where the series has been is the best way to predict where it goes next. Naughty Dog rarely repeats a region, which eliminates large parts of the map.
| Game | Year | Primary Real-World Region | Legendary Destination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drake's Fortune | 2007 | Amazon / Pacific coast of South America | El Dorado (golden city) |
| Among Thieves | 2008 | Nepal / Himalayas / Borneo | Shambhala |
| Drake's Deception | 2011 | Middle East / Rub' al Khali desert | Iram of the Pillars (Atlantis of the Sands) |
| Golden Abyss | 2011 | Central America (PS Vita) | Quivira |
| A Thief's End | 2016 | Madagascar / Italy / Scotland | Henry Avery's pirate colony, Libertalia |
| The Lost Legacy | 2017 | India (Western Ghats) | Tusk of Ganesh |
Three patterns stand out:
- Escalating remoteness: each destination is harder to reach and better hidden than the last.
- One hero region per game: side stops exist (Scotland, Italy, Panama), but the finale lives in one flagship country.
- Cultural specificity: the endgame location always ties into a genuine historical myth, from Shambhala to Libertalia.
Watch how the finale maps open up. A Thief's End and The Lost Legacy both use wide combat arenas late in the campaign — a trend any Uncharted 5 map design would almost certainly continue on PS5 hardware.
Top Rumored and Fan-Theorized Uncharted 5 Locations
Because nothing is confirmed, this ranking weighs story logic, unexplored regions, and how well each setting fits the series' lost-city formula.
Southeast Asia
- Angkor-era ruins and jungle temples
- Natural fit for a Cassie Drake-era adventure
- Unexplored by any mainline entry
- Strong verticality for climbing design
The Arctic / Antarctica
- Frozen lost-city mystery potential
- Contrasts every prior tropical or desert map
- Echoes classic pulp-adventure fiction
- Harsh survival flavor for new mechanics
East Asia (Japan / Mongolia)**
- Shinobi treasure or Kublai Khan legends
- Sam Drake's open-ended fate invites it
- Urban and rural variety
- Fresh mythology for the series
| Rank | Rumored Location | Supporting Theory | Likelihood |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southeast Asia | Cassie-led torch-pass, temple-climbing formula | ★★★★ |
| 2 | Arctic / Antarctic | Pulp-adventure heritage, no series precedent | ★★★ |
| 3 | Japan / Mongolia | Sam Drake as lead or wildcard | ★★★ |
| 4 | Mediterranean / North Africa | Roman or Phoenician lost legends | ★★ |
| 5 | Return to Libertalia region | Nostalgic, but Naughty Dog avoids repeats | ★ |
Uncharted 4's epilogue deliberately showed Cassie discovering her parents' treasure-hunting past. If she leads Uncharted 5, the location can be anywhere on Earth — her story has no established geography yet, freeing the writers from Drake-family history.
How to Predict Locations Yourself: A 4-Step Method
You don't need insider leaks to make a smart guess. Follow the same logic the writers use:
Start with a real legend
Every Uncharted destination begins as genuine history or myth — El Dorado, Shambhala, Iram. List lost-city legends that fit a single hero region.
Cross out visited regions
Eliminate the Amazon, Nepal, the Middle East, Madagascar, and India. Naughty Dog has never repeated a flagship region.
Match the protagonist to the place
A young Cassie Drake suits a fresh, iconic region. A Sam Drake story leans toward his criminal underworld ties. The lead shapes the map.
Check the terrain mix
The series needs three things: climbing surfaces, combat arenas, and cinematic set-piece space. Coastal cliffs, temple complexes, and old cities score highest.
Based on this method, a jungle-temple region in Southeast Asia or a frozen Arctic lost city are the two strongest predictions for Uncharted 5 locations among the fan community.
Prepare While You Wait: Location-Hunting Checklist
While we wait for official news, the best way to study Uncharted level design is to replay the series with a map-maker's eye.
Location Study Goals:
- Replay A Thief's End and note Madagascar's open arenas
- Compare Western Ghats level flow in The Lost Legacy
- Track how each game reveals its legendary destination
- List three unexplored regions with a real lost-city myth
- Follow Naughty Dog news for any official announcement
The Legacy of Thieves Collection on PS5 and PC includes remastered Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy — the two best examples of modern Uncharted location design. The Nathan Drake Collection covers the first three games on PS4.
FAQ
Q: Have any Uncharted 5 locations been officially confirmed?
No. Naughty Dog has not announced Uncharted 5 at all, so no locations, settings, or story details are official. All location talk is fan theory and industry speculation until the studio or Sony confirms the project.
Q: Which Uncharted game has the best locations?
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is widely considered the peak, with Madagascar's wide combat arenas and Libertalia's pirate ruins. Uncharted 2's Shambhala journey remains the fan-favorite classic, and The Lost Legacy's Western Ghats offers the most open exploration.
Q: Will Uncharted 5 locations connect to Nathan Drake's story?
Probably loosely at most. Uncharted 4 ended Nathan's arc definitively, and rumors point toward Cassie Drake or another new lead. If Nathan appears at all, it would likely be a cameo or mentor moment rather than driving the destination choice.
Q: Why doesn't Naughty Dog reuse locations like Madagascar or Nepal?
The series formula pairs each game with a new legendary lost city and a fresh real-world region. Revisiting a flagship region would break that pattern, which is why Uncharted 5 locations are expected somewhere the series has never been.