The Last of Us Part II director Neil Druckmann has been promoted to co-president of Naughty Dog. Current president Evan Wells announced the news today on the
company’s blog
. The promotion came during an all-studio meeting where director of operations Alison Mori and co-director of programming Christian Gyrling were also promoted to vice presidents.
Druckmann began his career as an intern at Naughty Dog in 2004. His first major credit was working as a programmer for Jak 3 and Jak X: Combat Racing before helping design the first two Uncharted games. His major claim to fame came as the writer and co-creative director for the critically acclaimed The Last of Us alongside Bruce Straley.
The pair would later direct the well-received Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which Druckmann also co-wrote. Druckmann then led the development for The Last of Us Part II, helping write the story alongside Halley Gross. The sequel released in June to widespread acclaim (including a
from Game Informer). Beyond games, Druckmann is also working with HBO to
develop a TV series based on The Last of Us
.
The Last of Us Part II is currently in the running for Game of The Year at this year’s
Game Awards
. Check out our
interview
with Druckmann and Gross as they discuss the game’s ending and the online reactions to it.
Naughty Dog
[Source: Naughty Dog