Naughty Dog Co-President Evan Wells has announced his retirement from the company. Naughty Dog is one of the biggest video game developers out there, rivaling legends like Rockstar Games. Naughty Dog is one of those “blank check” type of studios that is allowed to make largely whatever it wants due to its track record. The studio came on to the scene with games like Jak and Daxter Crash Bandicoot before eventually really cemented itself in the industry with the Uncharted franchise. The momentum continued with arguably the studio’s most successful game The Last of Us, which is now regarded as one of the best games out there and has been turned into a critically acclaimed TV series.
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With that said, Naughty Dog has had some key leadership helping steer the studio to these big hits. Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells is retiring from the company after 25 years. Wells noted in an email to staff that he’s been weighing his exit from the studio for a while and feels confident that co-president and The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann will be able to carry the studio forward. Druckmann himself also issued a note wishing Wells farewell (Wells is staying for a while longer and will continue to serve his role until then) and outlined some promotions for key leadership roles.
“There’s never a perfect time to step away, but I’m incredibly confident that I’ll be leaving the studio in the best hands,” said Wells in an email to the staff. “Neil and the rest of the capable and dynamic Studio Leadership Team are perfectly suited to ensure Naughty Dog continues to lead the industry – not only in the games we make, but the environment in which we make them. I am positive that Naughty Dog will continue to push the industry and our medium forward.
“I couldn’t be more excited about our current projects and not getting to see those games to completion is going to be hard. But we’ve never had a stronger team in place to ensure that we will deliver them in a way that will set industry standards and exceed all expectations.”
As of right now, we have no idea when Naughty Dog’s next game will release. Earlier this year, it was reported that the developer’s multiplayer Last of Us game may be in some trouble. It sounds like it could possibly get canceled if major changes aren’t made and it’s unclear if the studio even wants to make those changes. Naughty Dog is also working on a new single player game, rumored to be The Last of Us Part 3, but we have no idea if or when that will come either.
