The driving force behind Naughty Dog’s smash hit Uncharted series has left the developer. It was announced yesterday that Uncharted franchise writer and creative director, Amy Hennig, has left Naughty Dog.

Hennig had been with Naughty Dog for about ten years before she left the company. She’s moved up in the company over her tenure getting her first directing job at ND with Jak X. From there, she helmed the developer’s current signature franchise, Uncharted. She served as the writer and creative director for each of the three PS3 games as well as writing the upcoming Uncharted 4.

Prior to joining Naughty Dog, Hennig was a designer and artist with EA and Crystal Dynamics. She worked as a lead designer and director of a number of games before Uncharted including Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Her work has earned her much praise including numerous Game of the Year awards for the Uncharted franchise and a Writers’ Guild of America award for video game writing in 2009 for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. She has also appeared on a few lists of the most important women in gaming.

Hennig’s departure may not have been entirely her choice. IGN reports that their sources say that Hennig was forced out of the company by The Last of Us chiefs Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley. No one at Naughty Dog or Sony Computer Entertainment has confirmed that story but have confirmed her departure.

Source: IGN