Lead Character Artist is fourth departure from Naughty Dog

A Lead Character Artist has left Naughty Dog, making him the fourth departure from the studio in the space of two months.

Spotted by Superannuation, Michael Knowland, Lead Character Artist at the Santa Monica based studio has left after more than 2 years with the company, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Naughty Dog have not confirmed the departure. We’ve reached out to the studio for comment – so far, no word back.

Just last week it was revealed that Nate Wells, a Lead Artist of Naughty Dog, had left the studio and joined Giant Sparrow, developers of The Unfinished Swan.

Hours later Todd Strashwick, actor/writer who voiced an unidentified character for the teaser trailer for Uncharted 4, revealed he has left the project after being recast.

4 weeks prior to that, the Game Director of Uncharted 3, Justin Richmond, also left the studio and joined League of Legends developer Riot Games.

And 8 weeks ago, Creative Director and Uncharted series writer Amy Hennig left Naughty Dog and joined Visceral Games and EA as Creative Director for the upcoming Star Wars project.

When news of her departure broke, sources said that Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, writer and director of The Last of Us, had “forced” her out of the company.

Naughty Dog later denied the reports and said that there was “nothing left to be said on this subject”.