Nate Wells has left his gig as Lead Artist at Naughty Dog to take on a new, as-yet-unrevealed role at Giant Sparrow, the California team behind PlayStation exclusive The Unfinished Swan. Wells revealed his new job in a tweet on April 3, though it’s not clear when he left Naughty Dog.
The veteran artist joined Naughty Dog in September 2012, coming on as the Lead Artist overseeing The Last of Us. Before that, Wells spent 13 years as an Art Director at Irrational Games, a gig he likely scored after working with Irrational founder Ken Levine at Looking Glass Studios for three-plus years.
While we don’t know exactly what Wells will be working on at Giant Sparrow, it’s a safe bet that he’ll continue to serve in an art-focused role on the studio’s next project. Little is known about the upcoming so-called “Unannounced Giant Sparrow Project” – first identified shortly after Swan‘s launch as “Edith Finch” – though the dev has confirmed that it’s for those that like “surreal experiences and games that aren’t much like anything you’ve ever played before.”
Nope, not too specific. But given Wells’ background with BioShock and The Last of Us, delivering games that aren’t like anything you’ve played before can be considered a particular specialty.
