'The Last of Us' Original Co-Director Unhappy With Lack of Credits in Show

The Last of Us' original co-director is not happy about being treated unfairly.

Bruce Straley, the co-director in question, has recently mentioned he is not happy with being snubbed in "The Last of Us'" credits parts despite his role in making the source material.

Straley was once a part of Naughty Dog before leaving the company in 2017 due to the stresses and pressure of Uncharted 4's development, per Kotaku.

Bruce Straley Has Credit Complaints

Straley mentioned in an interview with The Los Angeles Times that his relationship with Naughty Dog and Sony lately has been "strained" after he approached the two companies for now crediting him in The Last of Us TV show, per a recent Kotaku report.

The game director told the publication that his not being credited in the TV show despite his contribution to creating its source material has him considering unionization efforts within the video game industry.

He believes that unionization could be a means to properly compensate and credit those working in the industry for their creative works and to protect themselves from unfair practices, such as not being credited or unfair compensation for their hard work.

"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," Straley said.

Straley's argument does seem well-founded. He was previously credited for his"instrumental role" and contributions in The Last of Us' development in the game's remake in a dedicated screen during the credits of The Last of Us Part I remake.

What's interesting is that Naughty Dog released the game's remake on Sept. 2, 2022, months before the TV series' release.

However, Straley left Naughty Dog in 2017 after spending 18 years working at the studio due to the stresses and pressure he experienced during the development of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Straley co-directed the game alongside Naughty Dog co-President Neil Druckmann, per Push Square.

While he would later return to the video game industry, he did so by creating his own studio called Wildflower Interactive, which is already working on its first game. Straley announced Wildflower Studio's establishment in a tweet on July 21, 2022.

Issues In Crediting

Straley isn't the only one calling for credit for their contributions to the video game industry. A report from Games Industry mentioned that former Striking Distance employees complained about their lack of credit for their role in creating The Callisto Protocol despite their contribution to it.

These incidents about the lack of credits aren't helping video game companies in their talks with employees considering unionization, especially after the revelation of Activision Blizzard's treatment of its employees.

Naughty Dog isn't innocent of treating employees unfairly. The company has been the subject of accusations of overworking its employees due to crunch times, an issue the company is allegedly working on to alleviate to create "more reasonable timetables."

Druckmann mentioned that the company wouldn't be announcing games as early as it did with The last of Us Part II and Uncharted 4 to prevent pressuring and overworking their employees.