Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Co-Director, Bruce Straley, Leaves Naughty Dog After 18 Years

Bruce Straley, co-director on various Naughty Dog games like Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us, announced that he will be leaving the company he has been a part of for 18 years.

"This has been the hardest decision of my career. Naughty Dog is home. The Kennel is family. I've learned and grown so much from working with this incredible team," Straley wrote in an official Naughty Dog blog post. "But after heading up three extremely demanding projects, and taking some extended time away from the office, I found my energy focusing in other directions, and I slowly realize this was the signal that it's time to move on."

Straley joined Naughty Dog in 1999 as a texture artist on Crash Team Racing, but he later went to head some of the company's most well-received titles, including co-directing (with Amy Hennig) one of my favorite Uncharted games, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

"I'm leaving Naughty Dog with the strongest team it's ever had, and that's saying a lot. But more than talent, it's the people that I'll miss the most... As I close this chapter with a heavy heart and an appreciation for everything Naughty Dog has done for e, I opent the next with an excitement to continue the journey into the creative process." Straley also thanks Hennig and The Last of Us co-director Neil Druckmann as "great creative partners."

Straley doesn't reveal what his plans are after Naughty Dog, but writes that he looks "forward to the discover and to sharing it with you all soon."