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HBO's The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann has made headlines by exiting the show after winding up season 2. Video game developer company Naughty Dog, which also developed The Last of Us video game, posted a statement on Neil's behalf on July 2, 2025.
In his statement, Naughty Dog's studio head mentioned that he had made the "difficult decision" to step away from his creative involvement in the HBO series.
"With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative," Neil Druckmann added.
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Dubbing the process of co-creating The Last of Us as a "career highlight," Neil mentioned that it was an honor for him to work alongside writer and director Craig Mazin for the last two seasons. Neil Druckmann concluded his exit statement by stating:
"I’m deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Neil's co-creator and co-writer on The Last of Us, Craig Mazin, issued a statement following the news of the Naughty Dog studio head stepping down from the HBO series.
Mazin called it a "creative dream" to have worked alongside Neil, adding:
"I couldn’t have asked for a more generous creative partner. As a true fan of Naughty Dog and Neil’s work in video games, I’m beyond excited to play his next game. While he focuses on that, I’ll continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience has come to expect."
News of Neil's exit from The Last of Us ahead of season 3 follows that of Halley Gross, one of the co-writers of the HBO series. In his statement, Craig Mazin credited both Neil and Halley for entrusting him with the story of the iconic video game.
Joining Naughty Dog as an intern to co-writing a hit HBO series: Neil Druckmann's career trajectory explored amid exit from The Last of Us
During a May 2025 interview with Forbes discussing The Last of Us season 2, Neil Druckmann shed light on his career trajectory. The Naughty Dog studio head mentioned that he joined the video game development company as an intern because of his love for video games and passion for making art.
Neil stated that he was a big fan of the studio's works, like Jak and Daxter and Crash Bandicoot. He mentioned that he was among the ranks of making the next Jak and Daxter, eventually working on the 2007 game Uncharted as an intern programmer.
Then, Neil shifted to the creative end and became a designer, dubbing it a "highlight" since he wanted to explore his creative side despite his way into Naughty Dog being in the position of a programmer. However, it was when he was writing for Uncharted along with writer and video game designer Amy Hennig, that he realised storytelling is where his passion lies.
Talking about his career path after realising he wanted to write, Neil Druckmann stated:
"The next one was pitching a game that would eventually become The Last of Us. That was a joy and I couldn’t believe that I was getting to make this game that I was thinking about, the story I was thinking about for years, and I’m doing it at Naughty Dog. Then, jump forward in time to now - I get to work on that same story with Craig Mazin and HBO."
Neil admitted to being a fan of HBO's works like Game of Thrones, The Wire, and The Leftovers, adding that ninety percent of his favorite shows came from HBO.
"So, to get to collaborate with this artist that I admire, who just did Chernobyl, and revisit the story in this new collaboration - that felt very exciting.” Neil mentioned
Neil Druckmann's work on the HBO series starring Pedro Pascal has won him multiple accolades, including Writers Guild of America Awards, D.I.C.E. Awards, and a Primetime Emmy nomination.
Naughty Dog announced Neil Druckmann's upcoming project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, in December 2024. The video game will feature Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor as game scorers and stars Tatti Gabrielle, Tony Dolton, and Kumail Nanjiani.
