Sony apologises to Neil Druckmann following ‘heavily edited’ interview

Sony has removed an interview with Neil Druckmann due to what it calls “significant errors and inaccuracies.”

Last week, Sony published an interview with the Naughty Dog designer on its website, in which he was quoted as saying that his next title could “redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming”.

However, Druckmann took to social media to claim he never made such comments and published what he claimed to be his unredacted words in full, suggesting that Sony’s version was heavily edited, to the point where context was lost.

“In editing my rambling answers in my recent interview with Sony, some of my words, context, and intent were unfortunately lost,” Druckmann wrote, before providing a full transcript of his answer.

A message on the Sony Group Portal now reads, “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).

“We apologize to Neil for misrepresenting his words and for any negative impact this interview might have caused him and his team. In coordination with Naughty Dog and SIE, we have removed the interview.”

Although it’s not uncommon for corporate comms teams to edit quotes for clarity and brevity, it’s unusual for the subject of such a comment to publish their original, unedited words.

Last year, Druckmann suggested Naughty Dog would reveal its next game game closer to its release than has previously been the case, in a bid to combat “work-life balance issues” that arose from announcing what it was working on too soon.