Co-President Neil Druckmann Shares an Update on Naughty Dog's New Studio Leadership Team

Today Evan Wells announced that after 25 years at Naughty Dog, he’ll be retiring at the end of 2023.

[closed_account]

Oh man, that sucks. Evan always seemed the "nice guy" of the studio. Passionate, ambitious & innovative without being egotistical. He has that air similar to Mark Cerny. Naughty Dog is losing a giant. All the best to him. I know he will be missed for all of his contributions to gaming history.

[SonyStyled]

It’s a well deserved retirement, but I can’t help but feel sad too. Jak and Daxter is one of my game series, and Evan Wells is one of the first names in the credits of The Precursor Legacy

[Jin_Sakai]

A lot of the talented people who had a huge part in making these great games we have today are sadly not a part of the studio anymore. Naughty Dog will likely never be the same.

Amy Henning - director for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and as head writer and creative director for the Uncharted series.

Justin Richmond - Uncharted PS4 Game Director.

Bruce Straley - Game director of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Lead development on The Last of Us as game director.

Christopher Ballestra - Naughty Dog co-president

Evan wells - Even Wells remained the sole president, overseeing the release of The Last of Us Part II, until Neil Druckmann's promotion to co-president in 2020

[peppeaccardo]

Atomic Heart is a fantastic game this dude has no idea what he is talking about. I am playing on PS5 and is one of the best FPS I ever played. Sheesh !

[closed_account]

Umm I think you posted on the wrong article. 😂

[v_eno_m]

+1 for OtterX ^_^

[Crows90]

Next chapter for naughty dog indeed...cya naughty dog. It was great while it lasted. Don't expect much from this studio anymore. All the great devs have left. What a shame.

[Redemption-64]

The studio is doing well and they will keep doing well. Their success always seems to trigger some people.

[Elda]

Exactly.

[Crows90]

Not at all. I think it's that any criticism will always trigger some people.

Yes the studio has done well in the past. Their last major hit across the board was tlou part 1. Uncharted 4 was well done of course. Tlou part 2 divided the fanbase like no other sequel has ever done. Since that fiasco or during there's been a massive internal shakeup. Only time will tell if the same naughty dog is still there.

[Redemption-64]

@Crows90

In what made up world do you live in?And what massive internal shakeup? During that time, not only did Sony give Neil a major promotion, they brought his story to live action and even made him one of the directors and based on Wells retiring, Neil will more than likely be given another major promotion. The last game they made that was successful was TLOU part 2. It only divided some vocal people online, that hold 0 weight in reality. The game, until recently was the amount awarded game in history. It has one of the highest completion rates of any game and have very high reviews from people who actually own/played the game. Only place you would find negative reviews are on sites you don't need to prove or verify own the game, care to guess why? Go to a site like Amazon that requires proof of verified purchase to review the game and you will 10s of thousands of reviews.

The studio is doing well and I like that Neil is sticking to his guns and no changes to make some vocals minority of self proclaimed fans happy. Plus Sony has his back

[Crows90]

So your defense is to discredit those that are critical of tlou2? You do this by claiming only some vocal online..uhuh.

Instead I can simply point you to comparisons between user reviews from part 1 vs part 2. General online reception. And although I can't speak for all those individuals I've never met I do know quite a few individuals that are not present online that disliked it as well.

So I live in the world of reality...and you live in one where you decide what's real and what's not...interesting.

[Redemption-64]

@Crows90

Yes, you don't live in reality. Also, user reviews? Can you seriously read? Do you know why I specifically used Amazon? Because those are verified and can be proven they actually own the game. You are desperately trying to make a point, using user reviews from metacritic, that anyone with a brain knows a significant majority of them did not play the game. You can be critical all you want, but what you see online, make up a very small amount of the whole base. Unless you want to use verified users that can prove they own the game, those users reviews are beyond useless

[tay8701]

Lol give me a break. They are without doubt the best game developer in the industry. Some said the same when Amy hennig left. Guess what they did next, the last of us. The game that many feel is the best game ever made. Then some others left and they made t.l.o.u.2, which until elden ring came along was the single most decorated game ever made. Some may not like the story of t.l.o.u 2 but as a ps4 game it still looks better than 95% of the games out on current gen systems. It's combat is also spectacular. Naughty dog will continue to be the apex of video game developers.

[goldwyncq]

When it comes to squeezing every bit of power from consoles, yeah, they're probably the best. But when it comes to actual gameplay itself? Nah, far from it.

[-Foxtrot]

Amy Hennig was still at the studio when they did TLOU

In fact she was in a stressful situation with Uncharted 3 because of it

They split the teams during development and she had to do a sequel to Uncharted 3 with half of the talent that was there during Uncharted 2 within the same dev cycle. When people call her because Uncharted 3 wasn't as good as Uncharted 2, using "another lost city" and so on...they forget this information.

[mkis007]

Amy Hennig is great for what she has done...but hasnt done much of anything since she left naughty dog. "What have you done for me lately?"

[Brazz]

What!?! ND is still great and the most awarded Studio in the last 15 years!

[Sonic1881]

Their last great game was The Last of us Part one and Uncharted 2. I kinda agree they haven't made a game better than those two gems in years.

[Shane Kim]

Part 2 is a critically acclaimed game. No matter what you personally think about it.

[crazyCoconuts]

Tlou2 is a masterpiece.
Even if you rage against beefy looking females for some reason, you have to admit that

[Rimeskeem]

If only they trained the new people or something...

Man some people are just unbelievably naive.

[neomahi]

Nah. That's not really true. While I don't agree with the political stances and agenda's Naughty Dog has been pushing and hope they find a way to go back to the fun-loving colorful more comedic style they've had, as The Last of Us is apparently going to continue on for as long as Druckmann is there, they need to leave that behind, or at least limit it only to their Last of Us projects. We don't game to get preached to. Uncharted wasn't about preaching to anyone, it was just telling a good cinematic story and having fun. Rubin and Gavin weren't about all that, even though they came from the backgrounds they did, they didn't make things political. Preach to an audience that just wants to have fun and you'll lose them, and then you'll be absolutely right and I whole-heartedly agree with you. I do think The Last of Us will continue on though because it's Druckmanns baby, it's not in Naughty Dog's character to do that as Evan Wells eventually left Jak & Daxter behind, but I think that's what has helped make Naughty Dog successful vs 343 Industries is that you have to have fresh new ideas. When the PSX died Crash Bandicoot went with it. When the PS2 died Jak & Daxter went with it. When the PS3 died Uncharted kind of went with it but Naughty Dog still brought it to a close and moved on to The Last of Us. The question is, can Neil Druckmann swallow his pride and let it go.

Last we really heard, Naughty Dog had their crew at Space Museums as though Naughty Dog were gearing up for something perhaps like Mass Effect, but was that for The Last of Us Part II where Joel takes Ellie to the Museum, who knows, maybe. I thought they were moving on and they need to.

They still have a lot of their team there though, but its no surprise though, that Druckmann is surrounding himself with his Last of Us team, for better or worse, who knows but that's the crew that helped him get Uncharted 2 and The Last of Us and Part II done so, not a surprise. What I can see though is if Druckmann can let his baby go and let his studio create new ideas and bush new technological boundries and take the role Evan Wells did which could very well mean taking a back seat and observing, let a new IP begin to go with that transition. Evan Wells and Christophe Ballestra also brought in Amy Hennig that did wonders for Naughty Dog and they CLEARLY learned a lot from her that Druckmann applied to his work to find success, knowing what that looks like, they need to keep their eyes peeled for someone else just like that. Hennig hasn't had much of a career beyond that though and she may never again but she jumpstarted something massive, which to Evan Wells and Christophe Ballestra's credit, they had a key eye to let that seed fall into good soil and watered and cultivated the crap out of that and it turned their Studio into an Empire. Can Druckmann do that, we'll see. Will he continue down the path of political content? We'll see

[thecodingart]

Well, with Druckman now the primary reigns, there’s really no hope for what’s to come anymore 😞

[Tacoboto]

Druckmann has been with ND since 2004 and has directed/co-directed The Last of Us Parts 1 and 2, the Left Behind DLC, and Uncharted 4, and co-wrote and designed Uncharted 1 and 2. He started as a programmer and worked his way to the top by leading some of PlayStation's best titles.

Yeah there's no hope at all with his history full of shovelware that even Microsoft wouldn't want to buy it.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

Do you not think Druckmann had plenty of crucial ideas for U2, and both LoU games?

And plenty of people enjoy the second game as much as the first…. Your opinion isn’t universal, either.

[ooquis]

They definitely fired the wrong guy.

[Christopher]

No one got fired...

[shinoff2183]

I never really even heard druckmans name until the last of us 2 came out. Personally I think people over react and make something out of nothing. Last of us 2 was a damn good game. Then some people decided to bring politics into it. Guess what jerky, ellie was lesibian before wokeness was a thing. Far as Abbys build if you don't believe there's women out there built like that , then you must live in your own little small worlds. Afraid a chick out there could whoop that ass if you get out of line.

[mkis007]

I'll be that guy...people with last names like Neils have always been history's scapegoats. It may not actually have anything to do with that, but it is quite funny the scenarios people develop all in their head why he shouldn't get credit for the success of ND games from uncharted 1 on.

[-Foxtrot]

Neil needs someone to balance him out, to tell him if his ideas are bad, I'm sorry but him leading something on his own is not a good thing.

Ever since he got more power in the studio they've stumbled a bit

TLOU2's direction split the fanbase in half, Factions II is nowhere to be seen and they've not had a new IP for years.

I wish Amy Hennig and Bruce Straley would come back, Neil cares more about breaking into Hollywood these days.

[Christopher]

I was really hoping he would have gone full into directing after the show and his involvement, including directing, on that. I think he's a better director than he is storyteller.

[Redemption-64]

No they didn't. He is literally the reason TLOU exists to begin with. Sony clearly cares about what Neil wants, enough to not only bring his story to live action, but make him one of directors. And I loved that he doesn't care what some triggered people think of part 2 and the second 2 of the show would follow the game.

[-Foxtrot]

Him and Bruce are the reason

Bruce…you know the guy who rejected his original ideas

Did you know what TLOU was before they got started together? It was called Mankind. Look it up

It was about a virus that only attacks woman leaving only men in the world where they have to survive.

So yeah…all him alright

People really need to start looking this shit up before glorifying him.

If it wasn’t for Bruce and the others saying “no, this idea is not good” we wouldn’t have gotten the original

Hell even the early drafts of TLOU was Tess being the villain and chasing Joel across America with her army to get revenge for something he did years ago to her. Almost an early version of Abby wanting revenge on Joel

[shinoff2183]

Split the fanbase cause have the fanbase read into political bullshit though.

[-Foxtrot]

Here we go

They don’t like it because…

“JoEl DiEd”

“They don’t like super realistic strong women who can clearly keep that figure and muscle up despite being in a harsh post apocalyptic world where even people in the real world regardless of gender have a tough time keeping it up”

“They are clearly fragile and insecure”

“They don’t get such a complex, rich, story”

“They don’t like gay people and are obviously homophobic”

Yeah yeah same old excuses to tackle any real criticism people say.

Basically, call them homophobic, racist, transphobic, a bigot and the like and I don’t have to challenge them.

[generic-user-name]

The anti-TLOU2 brigade are relentless. The same falsehoods spread about Kojima; 'he needs someone to keep him in check'.

"TLOU2's direction split the fanbase in half"

The inclusion of certain types of characters in prominent roles is what split the fanbase in half. Before you say'No that's not true, the criticism is valid', it's the same criticism that came when the game was leaked a month early, filled with misinformation to deliberately try to harm the reputation of the game among the 4chan crowd. Hence why many today who are 'only giving fair criticism' believe that Abby is trans and that a Mexican character is a self-insert for Druckman, an Israeli man, so he could have sex with Abby (despite it being Owen, the blonde guy, who actually has sex with her).

"If it wasn’t for Bruce and the others saying “no, this idea is not good” we wouldn’t have gotten the original"

Ah yes, the reliable 'Bruce was the real reason the first game was good'-excuse. Always based on that one interview where one example was given that only showed that Druckmann listened to feedback and took it on board, what a dictator. Completely closing our minds off to the high certainty that Bruce would have had ideas that got vetoed by Druckmann and others too. Which is what happens when two people create together.

"Hell even the early drafts of TLOU was Tess being the villain and chasing Joel across America with her army to get revenge for something he did years ago to her. Almost an early version of Abby wanting revenge on Joel"

I remember when this was first revealed and people thought it was an interesting concept, but since TLOU2 it's proof that Druckmann only has bad ideas somehow.

“They don’t like super realistic strong women who can clearly keep that figure and muscle up despite being in a harsh post apocalyptic world where even people in the real world regardless of gender have a tough time keeping it up”

It's always unrealistic for Abby to have muscles, but we had our blindfolds on when a built Joel and a little girl took out dozens of jacked hunters and predators. Joel literally collects supplements to buff himself up too but Abby couldn't possibly be taking anything to enhance.

Let me guess also:

'Joel wouldn't have let his guard down with Abby.'

The same Joel who took a nap with Henry an hour after meeting him in the first game. Yet when meeting Abby he didn't even have time to think as they were being chased by a hoard?

TLOU2 craps over anything Hennig did at ND or since leaving (nothing).

[Inverno]

I did not like TLoU2, but I liked the shows retelling of the first game a lot. Honestly the whole controversy was overblown and mostly false, but I still have my issues with the story of Part 2. Not like he doesn't deserve it since he definitely worked up to it, so congratulations. I can't deny the level of polish in a ND game, I don't think anyone can unless you're a troll. During their Uncharted years I'd have bought any of their games blindly, but not anymore. Curious to see where he takes the company next, and maybe he won't double down on the bad ideas.

[jznrpg]

I want to see that Sci Fi game. Supposedly TLOU3 is casting already as well

[Stanjara]

It was fun while it lasted... Goodbye Druckmans ND.
I hope anybody with a brain stops doing moss and rust textures crunch and finds a better job or starts an indie studio.

Whatever ND is doing with live service multiplayer or agendas I'm not interested.

[dnawesum]

Terrific shame and he will be sorely missed. Luckily Naughty Dog is bigger than any one man (although plenty of haters will say differently) and they consistently deliver amazing gaming experiences because they work unilaterally as a team in their creative endeavours.

...Still waiting on that Factions 2, though.

[Armyofdarkness]

Part II was amazing. Impactful, surprising and brutal. A fucking great follow up to one of the best games ever. Naughty Dog is going to be just fine with Neil Druckman. Also, this studio is made up of hundreds of people, not just the names we know.

[MadLad]

The names you know are the ones who actually write off on the decisions as they go forward as a company.
Druckman is one of the least favored of the "known names" of the company, and now he has one less veteran adding their opinion on how things should be done.

[Armyofdarkness]

Fair point, but he is the least favorable according to who? The ones who hate Part II because of a certain death and / or Abby? We will see my friend.

[MadLad]

Druckmann has a bad track record with past employees.
Past ND employees have spoke and and said that he'll come up with some idea and then basically force it into whatever game plan they have for their current project. He doesn't play very well with outside opinion.

He seems like another Ken Levine (Bioshock) to me.
They're good ideas guys, but they shouldn't be directing the ship alone.

He's pretty much directing the ship alone now.

[MadLad]

Just what Naughty Dog needs; Druckman with even less senior staff to help direct him.

This basically shuts down any idea of something like Jak and Daxter returning, or a new IP that doesn't fall in line with their more recent stuff when it comes to design any time soon.

[Bathyj]

Some of these comments are so misplaced

[ROCKY28]

Evan Well's is a great man 😊 I worked with him on the launch trailer and tv spot for UC3 and was an absolute pleasure to work with him and the whole team - Enjoy your retirement 🙏🏼

[Binarycode]

TBH. What the f have ND been doing.

Can that fking crap factions. TLOU is not a MP game. Waste of time and money.

Single Player games are what ppl want.

PS5 will have been out 3 years in Nov and haven't heard a peep from ND. No games named, No footage, no gameplay.

I understand games take a few years to make, but other then upgrade the Engine for PS5 stuff, Naughty dog were normally masters of the tech they are given, and Development for games should have started long before PS5 was even announced.

Everyone can dvote me. Couldn't careless.

Uncharted 4 sold 14million Copies and you're telling me there's no new Uncharted. Crazy.

[generic-user-name]

"PS5 will have been out 3 years in Nov and haven't heard a peep from ND. No games named, No footage, no gameplay."

TLOU Remake was made by ND.

[MadLad]

So they took this many years to release the least asked for "remake" off all time? In the same engine that the original game was developed.

[generic-user-name]

"this many years"

TLOU2 was 2020
TLOU R was 2022 on new hardware while simultaneously developing their first online only title.