In a statement on Naughty Dog's website, the studio denied reports that Amy Hennig, the studio's creative director, who left earlier this week, was forced to do so by The Last of Us directors Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann.
The rather blunt statement from Naughty Dog Co-Presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra reads:
"Earlier this week we had to confirm the regrettable news that Amy Hennig has left Naughty Dog. She will be missed and, as we stated before, we appreciate the significant contributions that she has made to Naughty Dog and the industry in general. We wish her the best."
The Santa Monica based developer took issue with the media's coverage of the departure which alleged Hennig was pressured to go but Wells and Balestra denied this charge:
"However, we feel it necessary to clear up a very important point that was unprofessionally misreported when the story broke. Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann were NOT involved in what transpired. It was very upsetting to us that dozens of stories were run, linking back to the same hurtful accusations in the original report. As co-presidents of Naughty Dog, we are responsible for all studio affairs."
"Normally, we wouldn’t respond to rumors and speculation on matters that are internal to Naughty Dog, but because the personal reputation of two of our employees is being damaged we needed to set the record straight. There is nothing left to be said on this subject. Now we’re going back to what we should be focused on – making games."
Naughty Dog is currently developing a new Uncharted for PlayStation 4 and it's unclear how the game's development has been impacted or who has taken over Hennig's responsibilities.
Last night it was confirmed that The Last of Us is being adapted into a movie with Druckmann penning the script. SCEA President Jack Tretton also announced that he will step down at the end of the month.
