Uncharted 4‘s game director Justin Richmond has left Naughty Dog mid-development.
Last year, Naughty Dog teased a new Uncharted game in development for the PS4. Unfortunately, the game is now running sans its game director, as Justin Richmond, who was overseeing Uncharted 4‘s development, has announced his departure from the company. Richmond’s new digs are over at Riot Games, who is responsible the phenomenally popular League of Legends.
“I have in fact made the decision to leave Naughty Dog,” Richmond told IGN. He adds that there are no feelings of ill-will towards his previous employer, as “I love the company and the people and know that they will continue to create awesome games going forward.”
“On a happier note, after careful consideration and exploration I have joined Riot Games,” he said. “There is some really innovative stuff going on here that I can’t wait to be a part of.” Going to Riot is fast becoming the trend for high-profile game designers, considering World of Warcraft‘s designer Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street left Blizzard for Riot last year.
Previously, Richmond oversaw Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’ multiplayer mode, and was the game director on Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. He had been with Naughty Dog since 2008.
This news, coupled with the announcement that Uncharted writer Amy Henning has also left the company, certainly does not bode well for the upcoming game, especially since when the game was first announced, Sony specifically hyped up the fact that Henning and Richmond were working on it.
Source: IGN
