Farewell, Bruce. Congratulations on all you’ve achieved, and best of luck with whatever’s next.
Bruce Straley, long-time Naughty Dog staffer and co-director of two of the studio’s biggest successes, The Last of Us and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, has today announced he is leaving the studio.
Straley joined Naughty Dog in 1999 – having previously worked on the Gex series at Crystal Dynamics – and cut his teeth as an artist on Crash Team Racing and the Jak and Daxter series, before serving as co-art director for Nathan Drake’s first adventure, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
He directed his first game with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, before taking the helm on seminal, Cormack McCarthy-esque drama The Last of Us, and later reprising the role with Drake’s final appearance in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
Today he has written a short post on Naughty Dog’s site announcing his departure, thanking everyone for their support and praising the team he has grown with over the years, and confirmed that while he does have plans for what to do next, he’s not announcing them right away.
It’s a lovely letter, and has evidently not been an easy decision. You can read it in full here, along with an accompanying message from Naughty Dog president Evan Wells.
Good luck, Bruce, and thanks for everything.
