Report: Sony Allegedly Identifies The Last of Us Part II Leakers – Contradicts Previous Rumors
John F. Trent
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A new report details that Sony has identified the Last of Us Part II leakers.
According to Games Industry, Sony reportedly identified the leakers and claims “they were not affiliated with Sony Interactive Entertainment or Naughty Dog.”
They did not provide any further details.
The Last of Us Part II director Neil Druckmann responded to the report on Twitter.
He wrote, “Well how about that… (Avoid comments if you don’t want spoilers).”
Well how about that…
(Avoid comments if you don’t want spoilers) ❤️ https://t.co/q5U3aMnhse
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) May 1, 2020
In a subsequent tweet he added, “Glad this got cleared up, but there are a lot of other false rumors out there. Looking forward to discussing all of this once the game is out.”
Glad this got cleared up, but there are a lot of other false rumors out there. Looking forward to discussing all of this once the game is out.
(Avoid comments if you don’t want spoilers) ❤️ https://t.co/q5U3aMnhse
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) May 1, 2020
YouTuber Memology 101 is not buying the official line from Sony. He took to Twitter to write, “The person who leaked it had access to several builds of The Last of Us2 and access to data that only devs have.”
Related: The Last of Us II Story Cutscenes Leak, Partially Confirm Previous 4Chan Rumors
He added, “Sony still claims the person is unrelated to Naughty Dog. I call bullshit.”
The person who leaked it had access to several builds of THE LAST OF US 2 and access to data that only devs have. Sony still claims the person is unrelated to Naughty Dog. I call bullshit. pic.twitter.com/pjvKA799b1
— M101News (@M101News) May 1, 2020
In a video upload, Memology would add, “That’s right, Sony has no idea who leaked the game.”
He adds, “All they did is claim to know who did it. Do they really think people are that naive?”
Rumors from an alleged source close to Naughty Dog told Sausage Roll that the leak came from within the studio.
The source reportedly told them, “I don’t doubt, even for a moment, that this leak came from the studio. The Last of Us Part 2 is very divisive and, as you can imagine, some of the team aren’t really thrilled to be working on the game.”
The source goes on to indicate the work environment could be the cause of the leak. They explain, “The team is very much divided on the game, and even voicing your concerns on its story will upset certain individuals; it usually results in said person being called closed-minded or even phobic, or some such nonsense. Some people literally have to bite their tongues or fear losing their jobs, even careers, to an outrage mob.”
The source adds, “What’s really sad is that nobody is allowed to talk about any of this. Many employees have left Naughty Dog because in-house politics and they are under a strict NDA and absolutely cannot discuss the studio’s ‘productions practices’ secrets. Oops!”
Related: VA Troy Baker Cautions The Last Of Us Part II Players To Be “Open-Minded”
“It was primarily the senior team that left Naughty Dog and to assume that it’s because of ‘long working hours’ is laughable. Anybody that has ever worked in game development knows that this is crock of shit. Since I can remember, development has always been like this; get to work, chug coffee and don’t leave until you’ve completed the task that you’ve been assigned for the day. It’s a part of the fun. It’s a part of the lifestyle. What’s not fun is working in a toxic environment,” the source concluded.
A Reddit thread submitted to TheLastOfUs2 Subreddit by user TommyKnocker_316 also details that the leaker was a Naughty Dog employee. This rumor claims the leak was done due to a pay dispute over employees getting furloughed.
Druckmann previously revealed in an interview back in 2016 that he fired a focus tester.
He explained, “You have some sexist focus testers who were really upset by Nadine beating up Nate, and really upset at the end when it was Nate’s daughter.”
He added, “To the point where we had to ask one guy to leave. In his core, it just affected him. He was cursing, ‘Not you, too, Naughty Dog! Goddammit. I guess I’m done with Uncharted, if you guys ever make another one, with his daughter. This f***ing bullshit.'”
Former Naughty Dog employee and animator Jonathan Cooper, who worked on The Last of Us 2 and Uncharted 4, also detailed that Naughty Dog threatened to withhold his final paycheck unless he “signed additional paperwork stating I wouldn’t share their production practices.”
When I left Naughty Dog late last year they threatened to withhold my final paycheck until I signed additional paperwork stating I wouldn’t share their production practices. They finally relented when I assured them that was most likely illegal…
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
Cooper went on to detail that he didn’t personally have an “awful crunch tale,” but he noted that a friend of his was hospitalized.
The truth is I have no awful crunch tale. The “story animators” as we were known were averaging 46hrs a week when I left and I personally never went over 55. The story team is super organised and we reacted to whatever was thrown at us. That’s not to say others weren’t suffering.
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
For the demo shown last September, the gameplay animators crunched more than I’ve ever seen and required weeks of recovery afterwards. One good friend of mine was hospitalised at that time due to overwork. He still had over half a year to go. There have been others since.
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
He then went on to detail why he specifically decided to leave Naughty Dog claiming it was due to Naughty Dog no longer being the best and their talent retention practices.
The reason I left is because I only want to work with the best. That is no longer Naughty Dog. Their reputation for crunch within LA is so bad it was near impossible to hire seasoned contract game animators to close out the project. As such we loaded up on film animators.
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
While super-talented, they lacked the technical/design knowhow to assemble scenes. Similarly, the design team ballooned with juniors to make up for the attrition of key roles. Every aspect of finishing this game took much longer due to the lack of game experience on the team.
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
Don’t get me wrong, these kids are mostly awesome and the best were great. It’s just when the junior/senior ratio is out of balance things can really grind and more time is spent training than actually working. (LA teams, make sure and pick them up when all the contracts end.)
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
Contract work is a huge part of the LA ecosystem to ship large games. Unlike game design, there is a thriving animation industry here and seasoned animators can (often) choose their projects. Most of the contract story animators quit last year.
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
Those that don’t can be at ND for 2-3 projects (with pauses inbetwen) and, while paid overtime, never receive benefits or the security of a full-time gig. This is the way the industry is moving so workers need more protection rather than the carot of a fulltime job “one day”.
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
Cooper does detail that there are other worse Naughty Dog stories, but he specifically wanted to focus on animation, and had high praise for The Last of Us Part II’s animation.
There are ND stories worse than this but like everything on my twitter I’m focusing on animation. For TLOU2 fans, the game should turn out great with industry-leading animation. I would just not recommend anyone work at Naughty Dog until they prioritise talent-retention.
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
Ultimately, ND’s linear games have a formula and they focus-test the shit out of them. While talented, their success is due in large part to Sony’s deep pockets funding delays rather than skill alone. A more senior team would have shipped TLOU2 a year ago.
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) March 12, 2020
What do you make of Sony’s claim that the leak came from outside of Sony Interactive Entertainment and Naughty Dog? Do you believe them? What do you make of these various rumors claiming it came from within the studio?
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