The Last Of Us Director Neil Druckmann Is Now Co-President Of Naughty Dog

Neil Druckmann--the writer and creative director behind The Last of Us series and Uncharted 4--has a new title to go along with his work: Naughty Dog co-president.

The promotion was announced in a December 4 blog post on Naughty Dog's website, with now-co-president Evan Wells mentioning that Druckmann had previously been serving as VP of the studio for about three years.

"We have such an incredible team at Naughty Dog and being able to work alongside each and every one of them is especially meaningful these days," Wells added. "I feel proud of the team when I'm able to recognize their accomplishments and contributions to the studio."

Prior to his work on The Last of Us and Uncharted, Druckmann worked as a gameplay programmer on Jak 3 and Jak X: Combat Racing. He's also involved in the HBO The Last of Us series currently in the works. That series apparently expand the universe rather than retell what we've already seen. Producer Craig Mazin also created the miniseries Chernobyl.

The Last of Us Part 2 is one of the highest-rated games of 2020, with particular praise going toward its storytelling and performances. Naughty Dog hasn't given much indication about what its next project will be, whether that be The Last of Us, Uncharted, or something else. The studio has not released a game in a new franchise in more than seven years.

Whatever the next game happens to be, we probably won't hear about it for a few years. There was a four-year gap between Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Part 2, with the smaller-scale Uncharted: The Lost Legacy launching in between. The Jax franchise has been on ice for years, though it's unlikely Naughty Dog would revisit it after its push toward more-mature games. We will still hold out hope.