Naughty Dog bolsters its ranks with a veteran who has worked on the studio’s best games, including The Last of Us. Enough to keep some hopes alive for a sequel?
After a period of turmoil at Naughty Dog, there is good news with the return of a veteran of the studio. He made his name by working on excellent titles such as The Last of Us Part I and Part II, as well as Uncharted 4, a talent that should therefore be used wisely.
The Last of Us and Naughty Dog reunite with one of their veterans
Lee Davis joined Naughty Dog in 2010 and left in 2020 to work at The Initiative (Perfect Dark) and then at Deviation Studios, a PlayStation studio that has sadly closed down. The man is considered an expert in close combat animations, and it is thanks to him that we have seen the brutal and instinctive engagements we have seen in the studio’s last two games. A rare talent that Naughty Dog was only too happy to welcome back into its ranks. At least that’s what we learn on the site. LinkedIn of the interested party.
« I’m excited to announce that I’m starting a new career as a Senior Animator at Naughty Dog! », we can read in his release. Lee Davis is therefore returning home and taking the opportunity to make up ground. In any case, this bodes well for the animations of Naughty Dog’s next games. After the cancellation of the multiplayer spin-off The Last of Us Factions and layoffs, we now know that the studio is returning to what it does best: single-player games with a gripping story.
Since Lee Davis is known for having worked on The Last of Us and Uncharted franchises, does that mean there’s hope for a new work from one or the other? It’s too early to tell, but we can bet that Naughty Dog will benefit greatly from having this tremendous talent back in its ranks. Sensitive souls hold back, however, his excellent animation work results in particularly violent, sometimes even disturbing fights, as shown in the compilation below.
