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Neil Druckmann has been promoted to the position of co-president at Naughty Dog, having spent the last three years as vice president at the development studio.
- Read more: The Last Of Us Part II is a masterclass in character assassination – and that’s a good thing
Druckmann was the creative director of Uncharted 4 and both The Last Of Us and The Last Of Us: Part II. He has worked at Naughty Dog for his entire time in the games industry, beginning as a programming intern on Jak 3. He then worked as a game designer on Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 2, and has gradually risen up the ranks at the studio.
The news came via a blog post from Evan Wells, who will be co-president alongside Druckmann. Wells called the appointment a “well-deserved promotion,” while confirming that Alison Mori and Christian Gyrling would both be stepping up to the vice president role.
Druckmann will remain creative director and lead writer on Naughty Dog’s next project while he serves as co-president. It’s unknown yet whether that will be The Last Of Us: Part III, a revival of a different Naughty Dog property, or a new IP.
His appointment comes a month after the release of The Last Of Us: Part II. Naughty Dog placed a job advert, seeking out developers who can work on “next generation graphics”. However, that doesn’t reveal anything regarding what the game will actually be about.
While not universally popular, The Last Of Us: Part II was a runaway success when it released in June this year. In its first week of sales in the UK, it outsold the rest of the top 10 combined, and leads the nominations for this year’s Game Awards.
The first game is also getting an official board game soon, Naughty Dog revealed in September.
Druckmann has also written a TV adaptation of The Last Of Us, alongside Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin. The series is due to air on HBO sometime in 2021.
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