Neil Druckmann (Hebrew: ניל דרוקמן; born December 5, 1978) is an Israeli–American writer, creative director, designer, and programmer. He is the studio head and head of creative of the video game developer Naughty Dog, and is best known for his work on the game franchises Uncharted and The Last of Us, having co-created the latter as well as its television adaptation.
Druckmann's first video game work came as an intern at Naughty Dog. In 2004, he became a programmer on Jak 3 (2004) and Jak X: Combat Racing (2005), before becoming a designer for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007). He was co-lead game designer for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009), which he co-wrote with Amy Hennig and Josh Scherr; the narrative was praised and received several accolades. He has also written comics, including the motion comic Uncharted: Eye of Indra (2009) and the graphic novels A Second Chance at Sarah (2010) and The Last of Us: American Dreams (2013).
Druckmann co-led the development of The Last of Us (2013) and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016) as writer and creative director, co-writing the latter with Scherr. He was promoted to vice president of Naughty Dog in 2018 while directing The Last of Us Part II (2020), co-written with Halley Gross. He became co-president in 2020, head of creative in 2023, and studio head in 2024. Druckmann co-created and wrote the television adaptation of The Last of Us with Craig Mazin and directed several episodes. He is the director of the upcoming game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and co-writer with Claire Carré.
He earned praise for his writing and directing work on The Last of Us, Uncharted 4, and The Last of Us Part II, which are often regarded among the best-written and greatest video games ever made. Druckmann has received several awards, including three British Academy Games Awards, four D.I.C.E. Awards, two Game Awards, three Game Developers Choice Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards.
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Early life
Neil Druckmann was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 5, 1978, into a Jewish family, the son of Yehudit (Judith) and Jerry Ilan Druckmann. Druckmann's family lived in Ramat Aviv until 1981, when they moved to Beit Aryeh, a settlement in the West Bank which largely consisted of employees of Israel Aerospace Industries, including Druckmann's father, a flight test engineer. His grandparents lived in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Druckmann recalled violence was a frequent topic on the news and in conversations at home. As an escape, his older brother Emanuel introduced him to comic books, video games, and movies at a young age, such as Pong. These forms of entertainment, particularly video games by Sierra Entertainment and LucasArts, helped him learn English. He became interested in storytelling and wrote his own comic books.
Druckmann moved to the United States with his family in 1989, attending middle school and high school in Miami, Florida. He began to study a criminology major at Florida State University (FSU), aiming to get experience as an FBI agent to use when writing thriller novels. His brother snuck him into E3 in the late 1990s, and he attended the conference again in 1998, 2000, and 2002, as well as SIGGRAPH in 2002 and 2003. As an FSU student in 2001, he won a Conker's Bad Fur Day multiplayer competition organized by Nintendo and Playboy. While studying, he worked as a clerk at My Favorite Muffin and a salesman at PacSun. From July 2002, while living in Tallahassee, Druckmann spent a year as a graphics research assistant at FSU's Visualization Lab. During this time, he and some friends began developing the game Pink-Bullet for Linux and Windows. At one point, he wanted to be an animator, which required enlisting in art classes, but his parents forbade him from doing so.
Druckmann realized programming was his preference after taking a class, and he began a Bachelor of Computer Science with a minor in math in December 2002, graduating cum laude the following year with a grade point average of 3.61. Due to his academic results, he was a member of the Golden Key Honor Society. He moved to Pittsburgh, where he attended Carnegie Mellon University, and began his master's degree in entertainment technology in August 2003 at the Entertainment Technology Center. He took a game design class by Jesse Schell, which taught him philosophies about positive impacts of games he would later use, and a virtual worlds course by Randy Pausch, which taught him to become more collaborative. Druckmann worked as a visual effects artist for a friend's team around this time. In April 2004, he and Allan Blomquist developed the game Dikki Painguin in: TKO for the Third Reich for the Nintendo Entertainment System as students at Carnegie Mellon.
Career
Intern and programmer (2003–2005)
One of Druckmann's professors paid for him to attend the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in 2003, where he attended a presentation by Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin. After Druckmann "bugged" Rubin, the latter gave him his business card. Some time later, Rubin contacted Druckmann and offered him an intern position, a first for Naughty Dog. By the time Druckmann responded, the position had been taken. When encouraged to apply for internships by CMU, Druckmann reached out to Rubin for advice and was told about a new internship at the studio. He was put in contact with game director Evan Wells, who offered him the internship after an interview at GDC. During this time, he had also been offered an intern producer position at Electronic Arts on The Sims 2; he extended the offer in order to attend Wells's interview. Druckmann joined Naughty Dog as a programming intern around May 2004. He began working on localization tools and gameplay programming on Jak 3 (2004). During this time, he offered assistance with additional design tasks. By the end of the internship in August, he was offered a full-time position by Wells and Stephen White, then co-presidents. He received credit for the second year of his master's degree through his work at Naughty Dog, earning the degree in 2005. He programmed the menu screens on Jak X: Combat Racing (2005), which he considered one of the most difficult tasks of his career, and continued to assist with smaller design tasks where possible.
Designer and writer (2005–2009)
During the development of Jak 3 and Jak X, Druckmann continually asked Wells about joining the design team. Wells restrained from transferring him, as he was originally employed as a programmer and lacked design experience, but agreed to review Druckmann's work if he completed them in his spare time. Druckmann iterated on several level designs with Wells's feedback, initially on graph paper and later using Adobe Illustrator. Following the development of Jak X, Wells concluded that Druckmann was skilled in design and gave him a design position for Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier. Several months into development, Wells transferred Druckmann to work as a game designer on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007), which was facing development troubles; High Impact Games took over work on The Lost Frontier, which was released in 2009. In his position as game designer on Drake's Fortune, he worked closely with Amy Hennig to construct the story, before working on Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) as a lead game designer, becoming more involved with the core writing.
In 2009, Druckmann worked on the motion comic Uncharted: Eye of Indra as writer and director. Eye of Indra tells the story of Nathan Drake prior to the events of Drake's Fortune. Druckmann's first graphic novel, A Second Chance at Sarah, was published by Ape Entertainment in February 2010. With illustrations by artist Joysuke Wong, the novel relates Druckmann's interest in traveling back in time to meet his wife at a younger age, an idea he found "cute and poetic". He felt he shared many similarities with the protagonist, Johnny, and noted "a lot of Johnny's flaws and fears are based on [his] own shortcomings". Critics particularly praised Wong's illustrations and Druckmann's writing and character development.
Creative director (2010–2018)
Following the development of Uncharted 2, Naughty Dog split into two teams to work on projects concurrently. With one team working on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011), co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra chose Druckmann and Bruce Straley to lead development on a new game; Druckmann was chosen for his determination and talent for design. Though they were originally set to develop a new game in the Jak and Daxter series, the team felt that they "weren't doing service to the fans", and decided to create a new game, titled The Last of Us. Druckmann was promoted to the game's creative director around a year into production.
For The Last of Us, Druckmann used a concept he created as a student at Carnegie Mellon: to merge the gameplay of Ico (2001), the setting of Night of the Living Dead (1968), and the lead character of Sin City (1991–2000). The protagonist would be tasked with protecting a young girl, but players would often assume control of the young girl, reversing the roles. He based The Last of Us on this concept, replacing the protagonist with Joel and naming the young girl Ellie. Druckmann intended The Last of Us to be "rooted firmly within reality", a departure from Naughty Dog's previous "light and loose" feeling. He took acting classes to better communicate with actors while directing. The game was released on June 14, 2013, with praise for Druckmann's work on the story. He earned numerous awards, including a BAFTA, D.I.C.E. Award, Game Developers Choice Award, Golden Joystick Award, and Writers Guild of America Award. The Last of Us is often regarded one of the best-written video games and one of the greatest video games ever made.
Druckmann later worked on a downloadable expansion pack, The Last of Us: Left Behind, a prequel focusing on Ellie's relationship with her friend Riley, which received in February 2014 to critical acclaim. He earned additional accolades for his work on Left Behind, including a second BAFTA and Writers Guild of America Award. In particular, he was praised for writing a scene involving a kiss between two female characters, which was named a "breakthrough moment" for video games. He also co-wrote the four-issue comic book miniseries The Last of Us: American Dreams with co-writer and artist Faith Erin Hicks. It was published by Dark Horse Comics, with the first issue released in April 2013, and was lauded for Druckmann's writing and character development. In March 2014, Sony announced that Druckmann was writing a film adaptation of The Last of Us, produced by Sam Raimi and distributed by Screen Gems. By January 2015, he had written the script's second draft, and performed a read-through with some actors. Very little work occurred following this, as Druckmann stated in April 2016 that the film had entered development hell, and in February 2018 said "I don't want that movie to be made."
Studio leadership (2018–present)
Druckmann was promoted to vice president of Naughty Dog in March 2018. He returned as creative director for The Last of Us Part II (2020), co-writing the game alongside Halley Gross; Straley did not return to co-direct the game. The game's themes of revenge and retribution were inspired by Druckmann's own experiences growing up in Israel, where violence was a frequent topic. He specifically recalled watching footage of the 2000 Ramallah lynching, and how, after hearing the cheering crowds, his mind immediately turned to violent thoughts about bringing the perpetrators to justice; he later felt "gross and guilty" for having these thoughts. He wanted the player to feel a "thirst for revenge" before making them realize the reality of their actions. Two warring factions in the game were partly inspired by the tribalism and righteousness of the parties in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, but it was not intended as an allegory of the conflict nor an explicit depiction of both sides. Druckmann noted that some members of the team felt reluctant about the game's cynicism, but ultimately he preferred a divisive story than a "mundane" one.
The Last of Us Part II released on June 19, 2020, to critical acclaim. Some critics praised the writing for its nuance and effectiveness, while others criticized its pacing and repetition of themes. The audience backlash towards the story led to Druckmann becoming the target of online hate and death threats, which were condemned by Naughty Dog. Druckmann makes a brief cameo appearance in the game as the voice of Briggs, a Washington Liberation Front soldier. An Easter egg in the game's collectible trading cards also references Druckmann in the fictional character Doctor Uckmann. The Last of Us Part II won more than 320 Game of the Year awards, which several outlets claimed broke the record set by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015); it was later surpassed by Elden Ring (2022). For their work on the game, Druckmann and Gross were awarded at the D.I.C.E. Awards, The Game Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, SXSW Gaming Awards, and Titanium Awards. Druckmann was also nominated at the Visual Effects Society Awards. The Last of Us Part II is often regarded as among the best-written video games and among the greatest ever made.
Druckmann was promoted to co-president of Naughty Dog, serving alongside Wells, on December 4, 2020. He was included on the Variety500 list in December 2020, identifying the most influential business leaders in the media industry. Druckmann was an executive producer on the film Uncharted (2022); to promote the film, he appeared on Sony's Creator to Creator series alongside actor Tom Holland, director Ruben Fleischer, and producer Asad Qizilbash.
Writing style
Druckmann realized his writing philosophy when talking to game designer Cory Barlog: "simple story, complex characters". He dislikes video games with complicated exposition but enjoys writing complex character relationships. Throughout his writing, Druckmann approaches scenes with focus on every character, attempting to enter each one's mindset, and tries to ignore character tropes in an attempt to write "honestly". He writes with a minimalist mindset, often asking himself the true meaning behind each scene: "What's the least we have to say or do to convey that and no more?"
Before writing The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, Druckmann and Straley created entire outlines of the story, before exploring the narrative more intricately, discussing the "moment-to-moment beats" of each level that lead to a bigger event. They began with the middle of the story, as it is the core of the gameplay and narrative, before exploring the climax and character development. The Frame host John Horn identified a repeating theme in Druckmann's stories, including A Second Chance at Sarah and The Last of Us: characters attempting or hoping to alter their past in some way; Druckmann admitted he had not noticed this trend, though agreed with it and recognized its recurrence.
Influences
Druckmann cites game writer Sam Lake as a large inspiration, naming himself a "longtime fan". Druckmann's favorite video games include Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (1991), Ico, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001), and Resident Evil 4 (2005), and he is often inspired by character-focused comics such as Preacher (1995–2000), and Y: The Last Man (2002–2008). He was influenced by the character-driven storytelling in Sierra games like King's Quest and Space Quest. While writing The Last of Us, Druckmann was inspired by several films, including: Unforgiven (1992), for its ability to make audiences support the protagonist despite his immorality; No Country for Old Men (2007), due to its subtle and sparse execution, forcing audience engagement; and Gravity (2013), in regards to simplicity and intensity.
Views
Druckmann is a regular advocate of gender equality in video games, citing Anita Sarkeesian as an influence; he presented the Ambassador Award to Sarkeesian at the 2014 Game Developers Choice Awards and regularly advocated her projects. When Druckmann found that he regularly wrote about "white, straight, Christian male" characters, he was prompted to instead add diversity.
The Last of Us's Ellie was initially received negatively in early focus tests. Druckmann is proud that Ellie is a "strong, non-sexualized female lead character", and hoped that other developers would take similar approaches to characters without fear of unpopularity. Druckmann and Straley were surprised by some of the backlash to gender roles in The Last of Us, although Druckmann noted that "the more progress we make, the more those problems stand out". He declared it a "misconception" that female protagonists hinder game sales, evidenced by the success of The Last of Us. Throughout the development of Uncharted 4, he was influenced by concept artist Ashley Swidowski to include more female characters in the game, praising her for "constantly challenging me and pushing for diversity in our cast". Upon focus testers' criticism regarding the inclusion and portrayal of female characters in Uncharted 4, one of whom was forced to leave due to an outburst, Druckmann expressed "Wow, why does that matter?"
Personal life
Druckmann resides with his children in Santa Monica, California, where he bought a property in 2019; his house was styled by designer Kim Gordon. Druckmann became a father during the development of The Last of Us, and has said his daughter was a "huge inspiration" to him when writing the game. He found her birth reinforced his ideas about family as he realized he would "do anything" for her. Druckmann's son was born around 2014; he was around the same age as Sam in the fifth episode of The Last of Us when it aired in 2023, making its events more emotional for Druckmann. In his spare time, Druckmann plays the guitar and joins his children in playing video games such as Animal Crossing and Pokémon.
Druckmann has a dent in his skull from being accidentally struck in the head with a golf club by a friend at the age of 16, which required 30 stitches. On his first day as director on The Last of Us, he suffered from headaches and began seeing double; he discovered the following day that he required emergency eye surgery, as an infection threatened the vision in his left eye. During production of The Last of Us Part II, he practiced intermittent fasting, which is referenced in one of the game's collectible cards. Early in pre-production on the television adaptation of The Last of Us, Druckmann and Mazin agreed to get matching tattoos of Ellie's switchblade if the series was successful; Mazin got his tattoo in February 2023, followed by Druckmann in March.
Druckmann speaks Hebrew and English, though he says his "Hebrew isn't that good". He holds American citizenship, having voted and promoted voting in the 2016 presidential election, 2018 midterm elections, 2020 primary elections, and 2020 presidential election. Druckmann donated US$10,000 to NARAL Pro-Choice America following the decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in June 2022, and US$2,500 each to both Israeli and Palestinian emergency response teams during the Gaza war in October 2023. In October, he signed the "No Hostage Left Behind" letter, an open letter asking the US President, Joe Biden, to ensure the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attacks and expressing the desire "for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace".
Works
Video games
Other credits
2017 – What Remains of Edith Finch (playtester)
2018 – A Way Out (directors thanks)
2020 – Ghost of Tsushima (special thanks)
2022 – Return to Monkey Island (cameo voice role)
Film and television
Appearances
2012 – Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (talk show; episode 653)
2013 – Grounded: Making The Last of Us (documentary)
2013 – Between the Lines with Barry Kibrick (talk show; season 13, episode 25)
2013 – How Videogames Changed the World (documentary)
2015 – Conversations with Creators (web series; episode 2)
2017 – The Game Makers: Inside Story (web series; 5 episodes)
2017 – Face Off (season 12, episode 7: "Feral Fungi")
2024 – Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II (documentary)
