So, we now know we’re getting a new Uncharted game with the next gen consoles. I never had any doubt, I didn’t think Sony was about to forget one of their flagship titles; but nonetheless, it’s nice to have it confirmed.

And, as usual, Naughty Dog confirmed it with a lot of class and a lot of clues for fans to start piecing together the puzzle of (hopefully) Drake’s next adventure.

Naughty Dog’s co-president, Evan Wells, wouldn’t say whether this new game would feature Drake–in fact, this teaser only billed it as “Uncharted” so we can’t even be positive we’re getting a sequel at this point–but, Wells did at least tell us that “if you pick through the trailer you’ll find some hints…” which was exactly what I started to do, and this is what I’ve dug up so far:

Île Sainte-Marie

That little island there off the east coast of Madagascar that they were kind enough to circle and cross-out for us (“X marks the spot,” right?) is Île Sainte-Marie. It has the historical distinction of being a known pirate hideout. But, if you’re one to believe in pirate folklore, it’s thought to be the location of the legendary pirate utopia “Libertatia,” or “Libertalia.”

Libertatia was supposedly a colony founded in the late 17th century under the leadership of Captain James Mission and housed famous pirates such as Christopher Condent, captain of the Fiery Dragon.

The “citizens” lived under a communal city rule, created their own hybrid language, denounced their former citizenship, and called themselves the Liberi .They waged a nautical war on merchant ships travelling to and from India, and were nobly famous for freeing slaves.

By the way, their motto? “For God and Liberty.”

Looks like Drake (or some new protagonist) is going after pirate treasure again, but this time in Tintingue Bay.

That all makes a lot of sense when we consider the desktop at the Naughty Dog offices that was spotted in a developer diary video for ‘Last of Us’

Those pirates certainly make a lot of sense in the context of the pirate colony.

But now, let’s get Biblical.

See that Latin phrase there? “Hodie mecvm eris in paradiso.” Well, it means “today you will be with me in paradise" and it’s taken from the Bible, specifically Luke 23:43.

At that point in the story, Jesus has been crucified and he’d strung up between two thieves who were crucified with him. One of the thieves is giving Jesus a hard time saying “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.”

That’s when the other thief jumps in and tells him to simmer down. I’m paraphrasing. Anyway, Jesus turns to that thief and says “verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

Two thieves sandwiching the Son of Man? Hopefully that means Drake, our favorite thief is back and facing off against a worthy adversary.

Now, this last little bit of trivia is a stretch, but I think it’s worth mentioning:

“Every betrayed us all.” That little bit shows up around the 0:27 mark and I had to watch it a few times to make sure I was reading it correctly (and then I found the pause button).

Grammatically it doesn’t make sense, unless “Every” is a name…

Which makes me think it’s a reference to Henry Every, the “King of Pirates” who escaped capture and completely disappeared in 1696 after 24 members of his former pirate crew were found, six of whom were eventually tried and hanged in London that same year.

Sounds like they could work some betrayal into that story.

Also, Every spent a lot of time in New Providence and there was a lot of turnover between pirates in New Providence and those in Libertatia. It might not be too hard to make a connection between the two.

And while all the rumors are flying around, I’m still thinking that Nathan Drake is going to be back. He’ll be on the trail to that booty the King of Pirates got away with while this new, unknown antagonist–voiced by the talented Todd Stashwick in the trailer–is coming after him for vengeance.

That’s all I’ve found for now, but I’ll keep digging. Happy hunting.