The Last of Us lead artist Nate Wells has departed Naughty Dog to join The Unfinished Swan developer Giant Sparrow.
Wells confirmed on his Twitter account Sunday that he had left Naughty Dog after about a year and eight months at the studio. Before joining the Sony-owned developer in 2012, Wells worked at Irrational Games for 13 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Hmmm....seem to be some threads here. Yes, I joined the wild, wacky, and ultimately brilliant folks at #GiantSparrow on April 3rd.
Sony signed a three-game contract with Giant Sparrow starting with The Unfinished Swan, meaning Wells' work as an art director will continue to appear in PlayStation-exclusive titles. However, his exit from Naughty Dog marks the third high-profile departure from the studio in two months.
Uncharted series director Amy Hennig left the studio in early March. She had worked at Naughty Dog since the days of Jak & Daxter, though she was quickly hired up by EA Visceral to lead work on its unannounced Star Wars project.
Later in March, Uncharted PS4 game director Justin Richmond left Naughty Dog after six years. He took a position at League of Legends developer Riot Games.
Sony said that the next Uncharted's development timeline "will not be impacted" by Hennig and Richmond's departure.
