Sony has removed an interview with the Head of Creative for Naughty Dog and ‘The Last of Us’ creative director Neil Druckmann, following social media posts from the director saying he was misquoted.
At the beginning of last week, Sony published an interview on their website where Druckmann was quoted making the claim that his next title could “redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming”. This was redacted and corrected by Druckmann over the weekend, where he published his words in full, indicating that Sony’s version was heavily edited, losing the context of the situation in the process.
The line was that Druckmann doesn’t believe “games need to be movies or need to be TV shows.” He went on to publish the unaltered version on X, stating “In editing my rambling answers in my recent interview with SONY, some of my words, context and intent were unfortunately lost. Well here’s a full long rambling answer for the final question about our future game.”
Corporate comms teams notoriously edit quotes or paraphrase for extra brevity, however, it’s unusual for the person being paraphrased to come out and publicly correct. Druckmann already has a reputation for strategically caring for his games, offering every detail to fans when the time is right. The way he’s corrected the misquote is a testament to how much he values context as a creator and isn’t willing to sacrifice that for publicity.
The post with the interview has now been removed from Sony’s website, with the link now taking users to a short statement from Sony, which reads in part: “In re-reviewing our recent interview with Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, we have found several significant errors and inaccuracies that don’t represent his perspective and values (including topics such as animation, writing, technology, AI, and future projects).” They then go on to apologise to Druckmann and his team for “…any negative impact this interview might have caused…“
Primarily known for ‘The Last of Us’ universe, Druckmann has confirmed he believes there is one more chapter to that story, suggesting he has a concept for the third chapter of the best-selling game. Druckmann is revealing nothing in recent interviews regarding his next game, though last year suggested that Naughty Dog would reveal its next game closer to release.
The second season of The Last of Us adaptation by HBO is currently set for release in 2025, but no news as to whether a third game is on its way yet.
Words by Maisie Hancox
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.