After a short stint over at Crystal Dynamics as Creative Director and Writer on Marvel’s Avengers, Shaun Escayg has returned to Naughty Dog to help the Sony studio on future products. Escayg famously wrote and directed Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, the Uncharted spinoff featuring Chloe and Nadine as the leads.
Escayg originally joined Naughty Dog in 2011 after a history as a director and animator in film and animation. He was with the studio up until 2018, working on games like The Last of Us, Uncharted 4, and then taking on the lead Creative Director role for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. He left Naughty Dog in 2018 to join Crystal Dynamics and help bring Marvel’s Avengers to life as the Creative Director and writer on that project, particularly the well-received Kamala Khan single-player campaign. After just over three years there, he returns to Naughty Dog in an unspecified role, though judging by his new Twitter bio, he’ll take back up creative directorial and writing duties on one of the projects the studio has underway.
Happy to be back with the Dogs! pic.twitter.com/0xcKIwFUkW
— Shaun Escayg (@ShaunEscayg) April 19, 2021
His return was also celebrated by the Naughty Dog Twitter account, though they didn’t offer any additional insight into what he might be working on.
Welcome back @ShaunEscayg!
Excited have you back at the studio and looking forward to doing awesome stuff together. https://t.co/E23pQ00XjS
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) April 19, 2021
When asked what this meant for Marvel’s Avengers, Escayg reassured fans that the Crystal Dynamics game is “in good hands.”
Marvel’s Avengers is in good hands.
— Shaun Escayg (@ShaunEscayg) April 19, 2021
Naughty Dog has been in the news a lot lately, with reports of a The Last of Us remake underway, and confirmation that the studio has multiple projects in the works simultaneously (though the studio has admitted it struggles with multi-project development). Escayg’s tenure as lead behind the well-received Uncharted spinoff could hint that the studio is continuing to invest in that world, bringing additional characters and stories from Uncharted to life in future games. Of course, he could just as easily be working on any other project the studio is keeping under wraps for now.
No matter what Escayg is working on, it’s exciting news for Naughty Dog fans. Escayg has proven himself again and again when it comes to writing and directing meaningful stories that translate well into the interactive games space, and we’re eager to hear what project he’s being given the reins on.
