The Last Of Us Part II creative director Neil Druckmann has been promoted to the role of co-president of Naughty Dog after GoTY success.
The big chiefs at Naughty Dog were mighty impressed with the Neil Druckmann’s work on The Last of Us Part II and have now promoted him to one of the highest positions at the studio.
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Neil Druckmann promotion means he will co-president alongside Evan Wells, who made the announcement after an studio-wide meeting on last Friday.
“As we close out a year that has seen its challenges as we all live through a global pandemic, there have been bright moments too,” Wells posted on Naughty Dog’s official blog.
Former co-directors of programming and operations, Christian Gyrling and Alison Mori, were also promoted following The Last of Us Part II Game of The Year success. They are now co-vice presidents of the studio.
“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. I feel proud of the team when I’m able to recognize their accomplishments and contributions to the studio,” Wells added.
Druckmann received a private scholarship from one of his professors to attend a Game Developers Conference after he attained a postgraduate degree in entertainment technology.
Neil Druckmann met Jason Rubin, one of the founders of Naughty Dog, at the conference and was ultimately hired as an intern at Naughty Dog. Not long after that, he became a programmer on Jak 3 and Jak X: Combat Racing. Then, he credited as a designer for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and the critically acclaimed Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
The Last of Us Part II takes Ultimate Game of The Year 2020 awards.After the success of Uncharted 2 Druckmann was hand picked by Wells and promoted to creative director of Naughty Dog’s fresh new IP today known as The Last of Us. It was another smashing success and Druckmann was entrusted to be the creative director of sequel and was to start work almost immediately.
Although fans did not love The Last of Us Part II as much as the original, the game still cleaned up at the Golden Joystick game awards and was the first game to ever receive the Ultimate Game of the Year Award; meaning it won every possible category for game of the year in 2020.
Excited to help lead the most amazing group of devs with my friend and mentor, @evan_wells! And big congrats to @cgyrling and @yoalimo on their well deserved and overdue promotions! https://t.co/7pNIXpZHRY
— Dr. Uckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) December 5, 2020
Wells was mighty impressed with Neil Druckmann’s work on The Last of Us Part II and promoted him to be co-president alongside him.
Druckmann took to twitter to congratulate his fellow colleagues on their new roles while also confirming that, in addition to his promotion, he will remain as creative director and writer of upcoming Naughty Dog games like Uncharted 5.