Uncharted 3 multiplayer in the works almost before Uncharted 2 shipped

Naughty Dog's Richard Lemarchand has said the multiplayer component of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception was in development as soon as Uncharted 2 was complete.

"We've been working on it since almost before we finished Uncharted 2," the lead game designer told Gamespot.

"Building out new multiplayer maps, and coming up with ideas for new both competitive and co-operative game types.

"We've added in a ton of customisable content, including customisable player characters, customisable symbols that people can use for their clans, and that appear in-game, and a whole tiered unlocking system of boosters, which players can buy with in-game cash to give them a little bit of a leg-up in the multiplayer sphere."

Lemarchand commented that the previous entry's multiplayer had been a gratifying success for the company.

"Uncharted 2's multiplayer was the first time we'd made a multiplayer game in about five years, and we really, really liked what we'd been able to achieve with it," he said.

"We have a big, very enthusiastic player base who are still playing a lot a year and a half after the release of the game. So that gave us an excellent springboard to make the multiplayer component of Uncharted 3."

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception releases exclusively on PlayStation 3 in November.