- Ex Naughty Dog designer Benson Russel has called out the studio for erasing his work on The Last of Us.
- The first game’s remake didn’t use the combat system Russel developed for the original.
- In addition, Sony pushing the remake as the definitive edition further angered the developer.
After a flurry of remakes, Naughty Dog is set to make its big comeback in 2027 with a new IP, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The studio is hard at work on multiple projects, according to a former employee, with one of these games reportedly being a new Uncharted title.
But, with fans not completely buying into Intergalactic, Naughty Dog needs to make a few brilliant games to counteract the bad PR. From the looks of it, however, the studio’s reputation can take another hit as a former designer has called them out for deleting his work on The Last of Us.
Why it matters: The original Last of Us is one of the most influential games of this century, and pushing the remake as the definitive way to play it is a disservice to the developers who worked on the 2013 title.
In an interview with Kiwi Talkz, ex-Naughty Dog combat designer Benson Russel called out the studio for replacing the combat systems he built for the original Last of Us with newer technology in the remake.
When they put out The Last of Us Part 1, where they reworked the game and they used The Last of Us 2 tech to redo the combat encounters and other things. That one’s a sour spot for me. It is literally taking my scripts, pushing delete, and putting all new scripts in, and that was a load of work.
The developer revealed that The Last of Us Part 1 remake didn’t utilise any of the combat encounters or scripts he had developed for the 2013 original. Instead, newer technology from The Last of Us Part 2 was used, which really angered the veteran combat designer.
Russel explained that this is a sour spot for him, as the company took all his scripts and just deleted them, erasing a ton of work he had done.
In addition, Sony pushing the remake as the definitive way to play The Last of Us Part 1 annoyed the developer even more, who thinks it’s a slap in the face of people who worked so hard on the 2013 original.
Do you think Benson Russel is right to be angry at the studio for deleting his work? Tell us in the comments below or head to the Tech4Gamers forum for discussion.
Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋
How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔
Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
Join Our Community
