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Naughty Dog has released a statement on the departure of Uncharted director Amy Henning, rejecting reports that she was forced out by two of her peers.
Henning left the studio at the start of this week after more than ten years working in various directing and writing roles on its Uncharted series.
A report from IGN claimed that The Last of Us directors Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann played a part in Hennig’s departure.
Today, Naughty Dog co-presidents Evan Wells and Chrisophe Balestra have shot down that accusation to protect the personal reputations of their colleagues.
The statement from Naughty Dog’s co-presidents in full:
“Earlier this week we had to confirm the regrettable news that Amy Hennig has left Naughty Dog. She will be missed and, as we stated before, we appreciate the significant contributions that she has made to Naughty Dog and the industry in general. We wish her the best.
“However, we feel it necessary to clear up a very important point that was unprofessionally misreported when the story broke. Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann were NOT involved in what transpired. It was very upsetting to us that dozens of stories were run, linking back to the same hurtful accusations in the original report. As co-presidents of Naughty Dog, we are responsible for all studio affairs.
“Normally, we wouldn’t respond to rumors and speculation on matters that are internal to Naughty Dog, but because the personal reputation of two of our employees is being damaged we needed to set the record straight. There is nothing left to be said on this subject. Now we’re going back to what we should be focused on – making games.”
Henning was one of very few senior female figures in game development, and the reported circumstances of her departure naturally shocked many in the industry.
