Naughty Dog: We’re ‘Energized’ Despite Spate of Departures

Naughty Dog has hit headlines several times this year due to a series of high profile departures. However, in an interview with GameInformer, studio co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra have said there's nothing unusual about the staff changes. 

Wells commented:

"To us, it's kind of strange because the perception and what's being 'reported' is in stark contrast to the feeling here at the studio, Everyone here is energized and excited to show off what we've been working on. There are no doom and gloom feelings, unlike what's being portrayed by the 'journalists' that are writing these stories. It would be comical if it hadn't persisted as long as it has – it's just not going away. Every single departure, or now even hires, are being reported as if it's big news.

"It's not significant at all. In the course of the last generation, we've had art directors, creative directors, co-presidents, and co-founders, leave the company and we just keep going. We've replaced that talent and we've filled the gaps. Some bumps are harder to smooth out than others. We work it out."

Later in the interview, Wells remarked, "We have at least four different pretty significant things going on right now." The Last of Us DLC and The Last of Us Remastered are likely two of those with Uncharted PS4 being third. On that front, Wells had this to say: 

"We sure hope you're surprised by how amazing it looks! It's a stand-alone adventure like all of them are; we don't expect people to have played the past games to enjoy the current one. But you're going to get to experience Drake and his crew in a new way."

The Last of Us creative director Neil Druckmann recently said Naughty Dog is developing "two new experiences" for PS4 meaning the final project is likely The Last of Us 2 or a new IP.