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[mindsale]

Bioshock Infinite had a bunch of key staffers jump ship (at least one to Naughty Dog) 8 months prior to release, and that game turned out wonderfully. Of course then the studio crumbled...

 

[M.D]

Out of the 100s/1000s of employees at WWS we've had....a handful leave?

Can you not tell the differnce between people leaving and notable figures at WWS leaving different studios one after another?

 

[Qblivion]

Someone leaving a large corporate studio that make bloated triple a games for a small company?

Not surprising at all.

 

[Madness]

Yeah. Other companies have taken notice of their success and have begun to poach Naughty Dog's talent. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

I don't think layoffs, departures, and studio closures have much to do with other companies poaching talent. Who truly knows what's going on with Sony's software side. You'd think Naughty Dog would be one of the few places people would never want to leave.

 

[Jarmel]

Do you have any idea how much money Riot pulls in every year? You should check that out. Way WAY more than Naughty Dog.

ND has the backing of Sony. You honestly think ND, and hence Sony, would let their major lead walk out over a salary bump? Really?

 

[Paradicia]

The Last of Us

None of Us Left™ coming to a bargain bin near you.

 

[Kazuma Kiryu]

Well this is just getting really weird.

How is it weird? You already know the answer. Sony's having trouble keeping their first party studios.

 

[paradise_circus]

 

[Gorillaz]

He was part of Amy Hening's team

So this isn't a surprise.

Welcome to the corporate world

 

[Wizman23]

And for Riot Games of all places as well...

Seriously, WTF?

You are telling me they left for a company that right now developes the most popular game in the WORLD at the moment? Why are you shocked at this?

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Either the game is nearly finished (surprise!) or, more likely, it's a really long way off.

 

[BadTaste]

So Riot Games. They've made one game, correct? League of Legends? Never tried it but I know it's popular.

 

[Portugeezer]

Neil Druckmann is killing it.

Was Uncharted 4 that bad?

Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian.

 

[Thorakai]

I'll develop Uncharted 4*

*Never played an Uncharted game before.

 

[Salvor.Hardin]

If anything I see this as a good thing. Bring in new people with new ideas, Uncharted 3 was significantly worse than 2 IMO

Isn't Uncharted slated for this Fall? Seems a little late to be hiring new blood now.

 

[jett]

What do you mean by that? UC2 multiplayer was absolutely fantastic, did they do something post-launch?

Uncharted 2 1.04 Never Forget

The last patch before Justin Richmond ruined a good thing due to complete and utter dumbassery.

 

[PhatSaqs]

None of Us Left™ coming to a bargain bin near you.

got me. lmao

 

[Mr_Antimatter]

Leaving for Riot, makes me think they offered him a lot of money.

I can't say I wouldn't take it myself.

 

[Loudninja]

How is it weird? You already know the answer. Sony's having trouble keeping their first party studios.

What?

 

[Bebpo]

Any chance Uncharted 4 is in some type of development hell right now?

I know people buying a ps4 the day Uncharted comes out, so I sure hope it doesn't end up being a stinker. Even if U3 was not that good, it wasn't that bad either. Would be a shame to have a truly bad entry in the series.

 

[darkside31337]

If anything I see this as a good thing. Bring in new people with new ideas, Uncharted 3 was significantly worse than 2 IMO

Agreed 100%.

Its so weird seeing people saying UC4 shouldn't exist or it needing a major shakeup and then getting legit shook over the fact that the people who lead the staleness of the series are no longer working on the game.

 

[BlackJace]

lol people at Sony studios are straight up dropping like flies.

 

[alr1ght]

Someone leaving a large corporate studio that make bloated triple a games for a small company?

Not surprising at all.

Riot Games is 4x the size of Naughty Dog.

 

[bombshell]

Isn't Uncharted slated for this Fall? Seems a little late to be hiring new blood now.

It's not slated for any time slot.

 

[SwiftDeath]

All right now I'm starting to get legitimately worried. This seems far more of a trend then I thought possible

Also having trouble keeping up with all of Neil's new job responsibilities

Spoiler

/s

 

[StuBurns]

Addition by subtraction...

 

[Jachaos]

The dream team is still there.

Yes, that's what's most important.

I don't know about who made TLoU multiplayer though, but I hope they're still there too. I know many still are, but the group that worked on it did such a great job in my opinion.

 

[Whompa]

This is getting a little ridiculous, no?

Yes Neogaf is getting ridiculous. I totally agree.

Guys, if a company broke from one man or woman leaving, we wouldn't have any companies.

Seriously. Best of luck on his new adventure. Some of the comments in this thread are hilarious.

 

[Gorillaz]

Uncharted 2 1.04 Never Forget

The last patch before Justin Richmond ruined a good thing due to complete and utter dumbassery.

ah yes the infamous patch

lol

 

[Salvor.Hardin]

How is it weird? You already know the answer. Sony's having trouble keeping their first party studios.

I don't think this has anything to do with restructuring. Seems more like professional conflict at ND.

 

[VeryGooster]

Now we'll never get Unkarted™.

 

[SykoTech]

I feel somebody should be a Dolan comic edit about people leaving Sony by now.

 

[scoobs]

ND has the backing of Sony. You honestly think ND, and hence Sony, would let their major lead walk out over a salary bump? Really?

uhhh yes? Do you have any clue how the real world works? Regardless if Sony tried to match (they probably wouldn't, times are tough w/ Sony's bottom line) he could leave for other reasons all-together

 

[Frumix]

Someone leaving a large corporate studio that make bloated triple a games for a small company?

Not surprising at all.

Hahaha please.

 

[Triple U]

Sony seems to be in a spring cleaning phase. Major changes but that isn't necessarily bad. Idk why people are acting as if the sky is falling.

How is it weird? You already know the answer. Sony's having trouble keeping their first party studios.

This post is weird.

 

[jett]

ND has the backing of Sony. You honestly think ND, and hence Sony, would let their major lead walk out over a salary bump? Really?

Eh, Justin Richmond is not such a talent that is worth going to extraordinary lengths to keep around.

 

[hohoXD123]

Druckmann claims another victim.

But seriously what is going on? This seems to be happening way too often lately.

 

[bananafactory]

Can you not tell the differnce between people leaving and notable figures at WWS leaving different studios one after another?

Of course I do, I'm just saying it's not exactly a mass exodus like some would lead you to believe. Something is definitely up but I don't really see it as a cataclysmic event. These studios will still retain 95% of their very capable teams, and someone else will step up to fill the void.

 

[TheRealTalker]

Come on guys...

You can do better then that

We need more PANIC!

 

[Violater]

Well he is leaving not like he got booted, sometimes you just get an offer you can't refuse.

 

[Graphics Horse]

Akin to rodents vacating an unseaworthy vessel.

 

[R&D]

After The Last Of Us, maybe Druckman & co wanted to take Uncharted in a more serious direction.

 

[inpHilltr8r]

Riot Games is the most prominent/stable studio in the LA area. Riot is going to suck up most LA game dev talent.

This. Riot have a lot of money, and 1 game. Can you guess what they're doing?

 

[Kyoufu]

My guess is the ND heads weren't happy with Uncharted 4 in some way that the two creative directors were let go? Or Richmond wasn't happy with Hennig being fired so he looked for a job at another company.

 

[scoobs]

Isn't Uncharted slated for this Fall? Seems a little late to be hiring new blood now.

I wouldn't be too shocked considering they haven't even shown the game to us, that Uncharted 4 will be a 2015 game. In fact I'd almost bet on it.

 

[boredandlazy]

Uncharted 2 1.04 Never Forget

The Justin Richmond Ruined Our Fun

Yeah. Patch 1.05 was the death of Uncharted 2 multiplayer.

Anyway, all these little joke comments about Neil and Brice are exactly why IGN should hang their heads in shame. Even though it wasn't true and people know it, it's now a stigma that some people will attach to them for eternity.

 

[TheBioLover]

This is literally the end of Sony as we know it. Mark my words, tomorrow they're getting bought by MySpace.

 

[Jarmel]

uhhh yes? Do you have any clue how the real world works? Regardless if Sony tried to match (they probably wouldn't, times are tough w/ Sony's bottom line) he could leave for other reasons all-together

They would have tried to match, especially considering he's the lead for their major 2014 game, unless they didn't want to.

Eh, Justin Richmond is not such a talent that is worth going to extraordinary lengths to keep around.

It's more the scheduling and timing. We're not talking about a late 2015 game(although we might be now).

 

[VanWinkle]

I am in light panic mode.

 

[LastNac]

Addition by subtraction...

That isn't to say they aren't great devs. I loved TLoU. I just don't think they are a good fit for Uncharted anymore.