Naughty Dog Lead Character Artist leaves

Another departure

Why are people moving on from Naughty Dog? Directors Amy Hennig and Justin Richmond left earlier, lead artist Nate Wells left earlier this month, and now lead character artist Michael Knowland (The Last of Us) is out. Superannuation saw the departure on Knowland’s  LinkedIn profile today. These aren’t low-level positions, mind you.

Is something going on at Naughty Dog? Or are people just leaving a big team for something that fits them better? There’s also the whole end-of-project moving on cycle to consider as well. Contracts end, people move on, life goes on. 

One thing’s for sure: even if 50 more people leave, Naughty Dog will be fine.