The Last of Us Director Not Credited by HBO – Calls For Unionization

After The Last of Us director Bruce Straley revealed he has been made absent from the credits of the HBO adaption, he took to the LA Times to share his thoughts and call out the show’s creators. Despite the director helping with the creation of both The Last of Us and its Left Behind DLC (as well as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End) before leaving Naughty Dog in 2017, he reveals that his relationship with the company “has since become strained.”

Since the first episode of HBO’s The Last of Us aired this Sunday, it has been met with rave reviews, as well as the news that is had reached 10 million viewers “in two days across linear and HBO Max platforms in the United States.” With the rest of the series looking to be just as popular, it is no surprise that the game’s original creators wish to receive credit for their hard work.

Straley calls for unionization to be commonplace in the video game industry.

Despite Straley now working on his own gaming studio, Wildflower Interactive, he still thinks not being properly credited requires a call for more worker’s rights in the gaming industry – in the form of unions. He says, “it’s an argument for unionization that someone who was part of the co-creation of that world and those characters isn’t getting a credit or a nickel for the work they put into it.” At the time of this article’s publication, HBO and Sony have not responded despite being reached out for comment.

This is not the first time game developers and creators have been left out of the credits of the games or shows they have contributed to. GameLuster recently reported that a music intern who worked on God of War: Ragnarök did not receive any credit for the sequel. She shared this news on social media, saying her name was “not in the credits, and apparently it can’t be added in a patch update.” It appears this issue is a common theme in the gaming industry, and according to an article by the Washington Post,”the impact of not being credited can be devastating, potentially reducing an employee’s future career opportunities and limiting their ability to self-advocate.”

What do you think of Straley’s calls for unionization? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to GameLuster for more gaming news!

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