Marvel's Avengers creative director returns to Naughty Dog

The creative director of Marvel's Avengers has left developer Crystal Dynamics to return to Naughty Dog.

In a recent tweet, Shaun Escayg said that he was "happy to be back with the Dogs," sharing a picture of a mug decorated with the studio's paw print logo. In another tweet, Naughty Dog welcomed Escayg back, saying it was "excited to have [him] back at the studio."

Before leaving Naughty Dog, Escayg worked as a cinematic animator on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, and as game director for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. It's not known what project he's returned to the studio to work on, or in what capacity, but there have been recent reports mentioning Naughty Dog's involvement in a new Uncharted project, as well as a The Last of Us remake and a multiplayer project thought to be linked to The Last of Us 2. It's also understood that Naughty Dog's next major projects are still in pre-production, making this a good time for the studio to bring on a new creative director to help shape the title.

Escayg joined Crystal Dynamics as writer and creative director of Marvel's Avengers in January 2018, ahead of the game's eventual release in August 2020. That launch was marred by disappointing sales, but Square Enix has already outlined plenty of changes on their way to the game - as well as the recent additions of Hawkeye and Kate Bishop, more characters and a Black Panther-themed expansion have been detailed - and Escayg told one fan on Twitter that "Marvel's Avengers is in good hands" following his departure.

We don't know what Naughty Dog's working on, but here's a list of upcoming PS5 games to tide you over until the studio's next outing.