Naughty Dog

Naughty Dog began in 1984 as JAM Software, founded by two high school students, Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. Its first games were for the Apple II, such as the educational Math Jam and Ski Crazed, and in 1989, when it signed with Electronic Arts for Keef the Thief, it took the name Naughty Dog.

After Rings of Power (1992) for the Sega Genesis and Way of the Warrior, a deal with Universal Interactive Studios let it grow. Encouraged by Mark Cerny, the studio made a 3D platformer for the original PlayStation: Crash Bandicoot (1996), followed by two sequels and Crash Team Racing.

Sony acquired the studio in 2001, while it was working on Jak and Daxter for PlayStation 2. Gavin and Rubin left in 2004. PlayStation 3 brought Uncharted (2007) and its sequels and, in 2013, The Last of Us, made by a second team at the studio and widely acclaimed.

The Last of Us Part II (2020) repeated that success. Naughty Dog is based in Santa Monica, California, is home to the ICE Team, one of PlayStation's central technology groups, and is working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet for PlayStation 5.