Effff! Why are so many people leaving ND? Bruce was the co-director of The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, alongside Neil Druckmann. He joins numerous other high end staff who have departed from ND, including Amy Hennig, Justin Richmond, and Christophe Balestra (co-president). Bruce and Neil seemed close, so I hope this doesn't mean Neil is next. 

http://m.ign.com/articles/2017/09/13/the-last-of-us-uncharted-4-co-director-bruce-straley-leaves-naughty-dog

Old blood out, new blood in. I'd love to know where he's leaving to, but even he doesn't know.

Hopefully this trend means no more Uncharted/TLOU, however. I dislike both, putting it mildly.

Sometimes its nice to get a change of scenery.

Not anime enough? (I tend to favor cartoonier games myself)

@OP

If I recall correctly, Amy pointed out long hours during crunch time which might explain why some have left... I hate having to work overtime so I can understand the sentiment.

Isn't that the same for all game development companies, though?

He took a 1 year sabbatical a few months ago if I remember correctly. So it's not surprising he decided to leave.

*shrugs* Probably. Some might have it worse than others. R* has been accused of overworking their employees in the past, for example.

Naughty Dog does work their employees' fingers to the bone. They are a good developer, and I love their games, but they just are a terrible company to work for.

Hope he finds something that perks his interest. I wouldn't worry to much about the future of Naughty Dog. They have had many changes in staff over the last 2 decades, and they continue to build amazing new expereinces. They just have a great culture, and a legacy that really makes anyone working there take a lot of pride in what they do.  

This is what is so awesome about games. I have played every Uncharted game at least 5 times, in addition to spending a good 50 hours in multiplayer/co-op/survival in the titles that have had said modes. The Last of Us, for me, is the crown jewel of cinematic, story based, character driven gaming. For about 3 years, TLOU was the only thing I had any desire to play. 

I find it awesome, that games are at a point where we have such a wide range of content, that someone can love games, but have a massively different definition of what makes gaming awesome.

It can't be easy working on the same big franchises for years. It is probably creatively challenging. Although, I imagine working him to his limits is probably the true culprit. Video game development is not easy.

Which is why I can't wait to be the boss of a video game company and slave over my desk for 30 hours a day!