Neil Druckmann, American video game designer and author
Neil Druckmann (Hebrew: ניל דרוקמן; born December 5, 1978) is an Israeli-American writer, creative director, designer, programmer and co-president of Naughty Dog, best known for his work on the Uncharted and The Last of Us video game franchises. He was born and raised until the age of 10 in Israel, where his experiences with entertainment would later influence his storytelling techniques. He studied computer science at Carnegie Mellon University before searching for work in the video game industry.
Druckmann's first video game work was as an intern at Naughty Dog. In 2004, he became a programmer on Jak 3 and Jak X: Combat Racing, before becoming a designer for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. He led development of The Last of Us as writer and creative director, roles he continued during the development of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. He has also written comics, including the motion comic Uncharted: Eye of Indra and graphic novels A Second Chance at Sarah and The Last of Us: American Dreams. He was promoted to Vice President of Naughty Dog in 2018, during the development of The Last of Us Part II, and was promoted to co-president alongside Evan Wells after the game's release in 2020. Druckmann is a writer and executive producer for the television adaptation of The Last of Us for HBO.
Druckmann earned praise for his work on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, receiving several awards and nominations for his contributions, including two British Academy Games Awards, two D.I.C.E. Awards, and three Writers Guild of America Awards. His writing work on The Last of Us Part II earned praise from some critics for its nuance, though reception to its pacing and themes was mixed; the game won awards for its narrative at The Game Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, SXSW Gaming Awards, and Titanium Awards.