Former The Last of Us and Uncharted Creator Explained His Departure from Naughty Dog Studio

Bruce Straley worked for Naughty Dog studio for almost 20 years, and he was directly involved in development of it’s best video games, The Last of Us and Uncharted 4. However, back in 2027 he announces he’s leaving the company for achieving something new.

During latest The Game Awards show, Wildflower Interactive, new studio led by Straley, announced their new project – Coven of the Chicken Foot, a fantasy adventure about a old witch and odd creature set in a mystery forest. While the game is still being in development, Bruce Straley recently spoke with Polygon to discuss his departure from Naughty Dog.

“I had been there 18 years. That's a long time for anybody to be anywhere. "I need new problems to solve, I need new creative outlets. I'm not saying there wouldn't be opportunities there, but couple that feeling with the idea that I was working really, really hard at something that wasn’t mine.”

He also revealed that he didn’t want to move to another AAA-studio, as he “didn’t want to deal with a whole different bureaucratic or cultural system”:

“It really comes down to: Do you want to continue working for someone else and put in all the effort to build an IP, to build characters, to build things that a franchise could be built out of? I got paid very well there," added Straley. "I got some appreciation there, but it felt like it was time to break out and try it on my own. It felt like it was time to evolve my concepts and build a new team. It might fail miserably, but I thought that it was at least my failure based on my choice”

What do you think of Bruce Straley’s new game, Coven of the Chicken Foot? Will it be so remarkable as The Last of Us and Uncharted 4? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Coven of the Chicken foot will release on PC via Steam. Release date is currently unknown.