Naughty Dog director of communications Arne Meyer announced that he is now Vice President of the studio, and made a statement expressing his commitment to “the well-being of [its] devs,” among others. Meyer took to Twitter to announce the appointment and revealed that the company is already working on improving its short and long-term initiatives to improve people management and career development.
Thrilled to say that I’m now Vice President at @Naughty_Dog, joining the fantastic studio leadership team!
Proud to be expanding my responsibilities and working alongside them on things like people and culture, organizational practices, and the well-being of our devs. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/QR1zgYULMX
— arne (@arnemeyer) October 4, 2021
Meyer has acted as one of the major faces of the studio for the past several years as Naughty Dog’s director of communications, talking with the press and media to provide key information about the studio’s upcoming titles. From the Uncharted series to The Last of Us Part II, Meyer has teased upcoming releases and offered key insight into games currently in development since 2009. However, Meyer’s responsibilities also encompass internal communications, which the new VP states will be “expanding” once he is appointed.
Specifically, Meyer states in a separate LinkedIn post that the leadership team will focus on “initiatives for the future and well-being of [its] devs focusing on studio culture, people, and organizational practices.”
The work I’m doing with the leadership team includes initiatives for the future and well-being of our devs focusing on studio culture, people, and organizational practices. We’ve already taken steps over the last few years in these areas such as doubling down on coaching for people managers and developing plans for career development. There are more short- and long-term things already underway as well.
I’m proud and humbled to be part of a team of incredibly smart and outstanding people who are committed to making progress on these focus areas and ensuring that the studio remains one of the finest places to be for devs who want to make extraordinary and important games.
These comments come just a week after Naughty Dog announced that it would give the dev team “more time” to work on the unannounced The Last of Us multiplayer title. Back in 2019, the company also came under fire after several ex-employees shared stories of 24-hour shifts and severe crunch practices during the development of Uncharted 4. While studio heads Neil Druckmann and Evan Wells were wary of a “one-size-fits-all” solution to crunch practices, some Naughty Dog employees feel that the studio’s work culture has changed dramatically over the last year.
[Source: Twitter]
