Sony Pulls Neil Druckmann Interview, Citing “Significant Errors”

Recently, an interview with Naughty Dog’s co-president (and The Last Of Us co-creator) Neil Druckmann made waves on social media, with some of Druckmann’s apparent comments about AI (and other topics) drawing polarized reactions. Now, Sony has removed the interview entirely, stating that the company found “several significant errors and inaccuracies that don’t represent his perspective and values.”

The interview contained several statements that were circulated widely on social media, including one about AI “expanding creative possibilities” and another where Druckmann reportedly said that Naughty Dog’s next project could “redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming.” However, Druckmann later went to social media to clarify that the interview did not accurately report the actual words he said, even providing his own direct transcript to show that it did not match up.

Sony pulled the interview less than a week later, offering a statement which reads in part: “In re-reviewing our recent interview with Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, we have found several significant errors and inaccuracies that don’t represent his perspective and values (including topics such as animation, writing, technology, AI, and future projects).” Sony further apologized to Druckmann for “misrepresenting his words.”

It’s unclear how exactly this sort of thing can happen in an internal company interview, or why it took Sony so long to remove the interview entirely. In recent Naughty Dog news, Jeffrey Wright (who played Isaac in The Last Of Us: Part II) was recently cast to play the same role in the upcoming second season of the TV show, which is based on the sequel.