All good things come to an end : after 25 years of good and loyal service at Naughty DogEvan Wells will step down to set off on new adventures. A simple developer who joined the team in 1998, he became co-president alongside Stephen White in 2005, a position he had held with Neil Druckmann since 2020.
Visibly attracted by new challenges and satisfied with the work accomplished with the unit of PlayStation Studios, he will retire at the end of 2023. Its future is not yet known, but if it happens in the middle of the video game, we should hear about it when the time comes. Here is the message that Evan Wells sent to his teams:
dogs,
After 25 years at Naughty Dog, I wanted to share with you all that I have decided to retire at the end of this year.
It’s something I’ve been discussing with the Naughty Dog studio management team for over a year, and with Neil for even longer than that. The decision brings with it overwhelming and conflicting emotions, but I have come to realize that I am happy with my time at the studio and with all that we have achieved together over the past 25 years. I couldn’t be more confident in Neil’s ability to continue leading the studio. This is the right time for me to give him and the other members of the studio management team the opportunity to lead the studio into a prosperous future.
I’ve been making professional games for over 30 years, and Naughty Dog has been my home for over half my life! I’ve seen this studio grow from hiring number 14 (me!) back in the Crash 3 era in 1998 to over 400 Dogs today. Every life milestone is tied to a Naughty Dog project – I met my wife during Crash Team Racing, we took our honeymoon after shipping Jak 2, we had our first child in E3 week when we announced Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and our second child was born in full development on The Last of Us.
Working here has been awesome and I have nothing but gratitude for everything I’ve been able to learn and participate in. And working with the passionate and motivated teams at SIE and other PlayStation studios has been a pleasure. I never took for granted the opportunity I had to be surrounded by such awesome creativity and talent and I am grateful to everyone – past and present – for teaching me so much.
There’s never a perfect time to walk away, but I’m incredibly confident that I’ll leave the studio in good hands. Neil and the rest of the studio’s capable and dynamic management team are uniquely suited to ensure that Naughty Dog continues to lead the industry – not only in the games we make, but also in the environment in which we let’s create them. I am confident that Naughty Dog will continue to drive the industry and our medium forward.
I couldn’t be more excited about our current projects and not seeing these games through to completion is going to be tough. But we’ve never had a stronger team in place to ensure we deliver them in a way that will set industry standards and exceed all expectations.
Finally, to all the dogs in the kennel – I’m honored to see what you’ve all accomplished, and I’m thrilled to have the honor to watch from the sidelines as you all continue to keep the development culture going well. established that led to our good fortune and string of successful games. I have no doubt that Naughty Dog will reach new heights and continue to raise the bar for the state of the art.
Thank you for what has truly been an amazing journey, I’m excited to see what the future holds for this inspiring team and I’m so proud of you all!
Evan
This departure will be accompanied by a restructuring that presented Neil Druckmann on the official website : he will soon officiate alone as chairman, but will be assisted by a renewed management team. The three vice-presidents will thus change positions: Alison Mori will lead teams and finances as Studio Manager And Head of OperationsArne Meyer was appointed Head of Culture and Communications and Christian Gyrling will become Head of Technology. Otherwise, Erick Pangilinan and Jeremy Yates will become co-directors of the artistic department, and Anthony Newman will take over as head of the unit. Production and Design.
A fine line-up of winners who will be responsible for delivering a The Last of Us in multiplayer and future plans for Naughty Dog. The Last of Us Part II is available from €19.95 on Amazon.co.uk.
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