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HBO’s The Last of Us forgot to credit Bruce Straley, co-creator of the video game
Bruce Straley, director and co-creator of The Last of Us alongside Neil Druckmann, wasn’t credited in the HBO live-action adaptation series.
The HBO adaptation of The Last of Us onto the small screen has taken into account a multitude of actors that worked on the original video game it’s been based on, but they seem to have forgotten to credit its co-creator. In 2013 alongside Neil Druckmann you could see Bruce Straley, and together they gave life to one of the most relevant PlayStation franchises up until this day. However, HBO hasn’t mentioned his work once.
From what we can see in the credits for the first episode of the series, the game’s creation has been pointed solely towards Druckmann’s leadership, with no mention whatsoever of Straley. This fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by the developer, whose statements to the LA Times have left it clear that this kind of situation makes him think about worker’s rights in the video game industry.
“It’s an argument for unionization that someone who was part of the co-creation of that world and those characters isn’t getting a credit or a nickel for the work they put into it,” he said. “Maybe we need unions in the video game industry to be able to protect creators.” The LA Times pointed out that both Sony and HBO declined to comment about the situation.
When did Straley leave Naughty Dog, and what is he working on now?
Bruce Straley left his position in Naughty Dog back in 2017, soon after the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. For those of you unaware of who Straley is, he was one of the biggest figures in the studio ever since its debut on PlayStation 3. Some of his most important works were as director of Uncharted 2, The Last of Us and its DLC, Left Behind, and Nathan Drake’s last adventure.
He’s currently dedicated himself to the founding of Wildflower Interactive, his own independent video game studio.
Source | LA Times