Uncharted's Nathan Drake is one of gaming's most instantly recognizable heroes. This roguish treasure hunter has been gracing PlayStation consoles since 2007, along with his father figure Victor Sullivan and love-interest Elena Fisher. But aside from being a charming thrill-seeker with a penchant for quippy one-liners and unmatched upper-body strength, just who is Nathan Drake really?
Players first meet Nathan Drake in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Right from the game’s opening cinematic, players are thrown into an exotic adventure full of intrigue and suspense. But while this was the start of a lifelong love affair for many Uncharted fans, very little was actually disclosed about the character of Nathan Drake. The only real backstory given is that Nate believes that famed explorer Sir Francis Drake actually had children, and that he counts himself as one of Sir Francis’ descendants. Even Elena makes a comment that she assumed Nate was a “woman in every port kind of guy”, showing that Nate didn’t even give much of himself away to Elena during the events of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
The follow-up to Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, is widely considered the best Uncharted game. And yet, players still don’t find out much about Nathan Drake as a person and his life outside of his adventures. The introduction of Chloe Frazer as a secondary love interest for Drake does show that he clearly knows how to charm the ladies (something that is also revealed in his journal), but the actual details of their relationship prior to the events of Among Thieves is never disclosed in the games. However, as fans play through Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, it is revealed that Nathan Drake is not actually Nate’s real name, and he is not a descendant of Sir Francis' after all.
Uncharted 3's Unexpected Nathan Drake Plot Twist
The events of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception see Nate and Sully searching for Ubar, a city of vast wealth lost somewhere in the Rub’ al Khali desert. As can be expected, they are not alone in their search. The unflinching Catherine Marlow is also desperate to find Ubar and will stop at nothing to get there before Nate and Sully. It is revealed during a flashback in Uncharted 3, that this search for Ubar has long been an obsession for Marlow and Drake, as Nate actually first came across Marlow when he was a teenager in Cartagena. It was also during this time that Nate and Sully first met.
During this flashback in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Nate is depicted as a 'runaway' in Columbia, and he is trying and obtain Sir Francis Drake’s decoder (that is disguised as an astrolabe) by stealing it from a museum… and so is Sully. At this point in time, Sully is working with Marlow rather than against her. However, when Nate interrupts Marlow’s plans to obtain the astrolabe, she orders her men to kill him. Sully is revolted that Marlow would kill a child, and rather than staying in Marlow’s employ, Sully saves Nate’s life and takes him out for a meal.
After starting off being fairly reserved and unsure of Sully in Uncharted, Nathan Drake eventually opens up to his savior and soon-to-be mentor. It is during this time that Nate tells Sully some of his theories about Sir Francis Drake, and once again claims to be a descendant of the English explorer. But back in the present day of Uncharted 3, Nate and Marlow’s men regularly cross paths, with many close shaves between them. When Nate is searching for clues in Yemen, Marlow actually manages to drug and capture Nate. When Nate awakens from this drug-induced stupor, Marlow presents Uncharted’s hero with a file on his life, which finally reveals more of his history to fans.
The file that Marlow has on Nate in Drake’s Deception reveals that he had a very tragic past. It is at this point that it is revealed that Nate was not actually born Nathan Drake, retconning previous Uncharted games. Marlow then reveals to players that when Nate was young his mother took her own life. Rather than look after his son alone, when Nate was five his father gave him over to the state, and he was ultimately entrusted to the St. Francis Boy’s Home. Uncharted 3 leaves these teases hanging in the air for players, and the game concludes without actually addressing any of these elusive points about Nate’s past.
Uncharted 4 Finalizes Nathan Drake's Transformation
Thankfully, Nate’s background is developed even further in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Here, out of the blue to both players and Nate’s wife Elena, it is revealed that Nate actually has an older brother named Sam. Sam was also in care when he was younger, but he was kicked out of the orphanage due to his illegal behavior. After being made to leave, Sam went on to work odd jobs to make ends meet. During a flashback scene Uncharted 4's story, teenage Sam signals to Nate at the orphanage, and his little brother sneaks out to join him. While out, Sam reveals to Nate that he knows where their mother’s stuff is, and that he has a way to get it back. The boys then proceed to break into a large manor house (that Sam believes to be empty) in a bid to find their mother’s belongings. However, while searching, the boys come across an elderly lady named Evelyn, who immediately calls the police and holds them at gunpoint.
Sam manages to talk Evelyn down in the game by revealing that he and Nate had only broken in to find their mother’s belongings. On realizing who the boys are, Evelyn lowers her gun and opens up to the brothers in one of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End's biggest moments. She tells Sam and Nate that their mother used to work for her and reveals that their mother - Cassandra Morgan - was a brilliant historian. One of Cassandra’s biggest ideas involved the explorer Sir Francis Drake and his heirs, with both Cassandra and Evelyn believing that Sir Francis had children that history had never written about. Evelyn then hands Nathan Cassandra’s old journal, with the notes on Sir Francis Drake. However, as the police arrive to arrest the Morgan brothers for breaking and entering, Evelyn suddenly passes away, and is unable to call off the police. With no one to vouch for them, the brothers both flea from Evelyn’s property and into the night.
When they are finally clear from the police, the brothers stop to catch their breath, and discuss what their next move is. Nathan can’t go back to the orphanage, Sam can’t go back to his job, and the cops are after them. With no hope left for Sam and Nathan Morgan, Sam proposes that they change their names, take on new identities, and restart their lives. Nathan Drake's life as an adventure begins in this moment. Inspired by Cassandra’s work and her theory that Sir Francis had heirs, Sam suggests that they become the Drake brothers in honor of their mother. That night was the start of the brothers’ lives of exploration and adventure, and the birth of Uncharted’s iconic hero Nathan Drake. It may have taken four games to get there, but fans (and Elena) were finally treated to Nate’s real history, and every twist and turn that got him to where he is today.
Uncharted 1-4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy are available now for the PlayStation 4. The Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will release for PlayStation 5 and PC in 2022.