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Neil Druckmann, lead for The Last of Us Part 2, promoted to Co-President of Naughty Dog

Naughty Dog recently moved The Last of Us 2 Director Neil Druckmann up to Co-President alongside previous sole company President Evan Wells.

TJ Denzer

December 7, 2020 8:26 AM

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There’s little doubt that 2020 was a big year for Naughty Dog. The Last of Us Part 2 finally launched and, for better or worse, controlled a major part of the gaming conversation in 2020 leading up to and in the wake of its release. Many will probably talking about The Last of Us Part 2 even now as Game of the Year deliberations happen. And as Naughty Dog has seen the fruits of its labor come to fruition throughout the year, TLOU2’s Director Neil Druckmann is moving up at Naughty Dog for his central role in the studio’s major milestone.

Current Naughty Dog President Evan Wells made an announcement of the news recently in a press release on the Naughty Dog website. According to the release, Neil Druckmann will officially be joining Wells as Co-President of Naughty Dog going forward, moving up from his previous Vice President role at the company. Meanwhile, former Director of Operations Allison Mori and Co-Director of Programming Christian Gyrling will be moving up into Co-Vice President roles at the company.

Naughty Dog President @evan_wells shares some exciting updates about the studio: https://t.co/QNtxhZAdSC pic.twitter.com/25IAorcYxk

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) December 4, 2020

Druckmann’s upward move is arguably well-deserved at the company following the successful launch of The Last of Us Part 2. Despite intensely toxic drama that followed the game due to certain leaks and story elements, The Last of Us Part 2 still made its mark on 2020 as easily one of the most high quality games of the year.

“Neil Druckmann now joins me as Co-President of Naughty Dog, after serving almost three years as Vice President,” said Evan Wells in the statement.

Whether or not The Last of Us Part 2 was your bag or not, it’s hard to argue about its waves in the gaming industry in 2020. With that in mind, it certainly seems like the future is looking bright for both Naughty Dog and Neil Druckmann.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.