Neil Druckmann

Neil Druckmann (; born December5, 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.

Early life Neil Druckmann was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 5, 1978, February 20, 2010 Writers Guild of America Awards Videogame Writing

March 12, 2010 Game Developers Choice Awards Best Writing

March 19, 2010 British Academy Games Awards Story

October 26, 2013 Golden Joystick Awards Best Storytelling

December 4, 2013 Inside Gaming Awards Best Story

Best Writing

Best Story

Destructoid Best Story

Giant Bomb Best Story

Best Script

Best DirectoCo-nominated with Bruce Straley January 9, 2014

Best PS3 Story

January 10, 2014 Best Overall Story

February 1, 2014 Writers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing

February 7, 2014 D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Story

March 8, 2014 SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in Narrative

March 12, 2014 British Academy Video Games Awards Story

March 19, 2014 Game Developers Choice Awards Best Narrative

February 14, 2015 Writers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing

February 20, 2015 IGN Australia Best Storytelling

March 12, 2015 British Academy Video Games Awards Story

November 18, 2016 Golden Joystick Awards Best Storytelling

December 1, 2016 The Game Awards Best Narrative

January 7, 2017 IGN Best Story nom|Tied with Inside February 19, 2017 Writers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing

February 23, 2017 D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Story

March 1, 2017 Game Developers Choice Awards Best Narrative

March 18, 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in Narrative

April 6, 2017 British Academy Video Games Awards Narrative

November 24, 2020 Golden Joystick Awards Best Storytelling

December 10, 2020 The Game Awards Best Narrative

December 12, 2020 Titanium Awards Best Narrative Design

IGN Best Video Game Story

March 20, 2021 SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in Narrative

April 6, 2021 Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time ProjectCo-nominated with Eben Cook, Erick Pangilinan, and John Sweeney

Outstanding Achievement in StoryCo-nominated with Halley Gross, Josh Scherr, and Ryan James Game of the YeaCo-nominated with Evan Wells, Anthony Newman, and Kurt Margenau January 23, 2024 New York Game Awards Andrew Yoon Legend Award

New Series

Drama Series September 7, 2025 Humanitas Prize Drama Teleplay The Last of Us: "The Price"