A 2014 report by IGN that Amy Henning was “forced out” of Naughty Dog by studio heads Neil Druckmann and Bruce Stanley was nothing but “forced gossip” according to ex-IGN staffer Mitch Dyer.
Dyer, who know works as a writer at EA Motive on titles like Star Wars Squadrons, took to Twitter to set the record straight, pointing the blame squarely on ex-editors Steve Butts and Tal Blevins.
“When I reported on Amy leaving Naughty Dog, Steve Butts and Tal Blevins forced gossip into the story,” Dyer began. “They heard it was a hostile takeover. We didn’t want to publish it. I tried to take my name off the story. They would not allow me to do so.
“They forced an unproven claim onto [IGN] with my name on it, against my will, to ‘protect their relationship with Sony.’ When Sony justifiably condemned our story, Steve and Tal were SILENT. They never went to bat for me for a second.
“These are the guys who would later publish a story on [IGN] stating THE LAST GUARDIAN IS CANCELED. When we confronted them about publishing an unsubstantiated (hilariously bullshit) story without consulting the news team, they said ‘you should have chased this.'”
Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann has already reached to Dyer after the revelation.
“Wow, dude. Not gonna lie… I was angry for a long time about this,” Druckmann wrote. “I appreciate you putting the truth out there. Please know I don’t hold a grudge and wish you the best. Sorry for what you went through.”
Like Dyer, Hennig also worked on Star Wars at EA before leaving the industry to take a position as President of Skydance’s New Media Division.
Star Wars Squadrons heads to Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4 in October, while Naughty Dog’s latest, The Last of Us Part 2, is out now on PS4.
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