Apart from a possible Last of Us Part 3, we still don’t know what Naughty Dog is working on at the moment. Between sequels and new licenses, anything is possible for PlayStation, which is now one of Sony’s strongest assets. And to ensure that it has all the resources it needs, the company has recruited a talent it knows well, having worked at Santa Monica Studios for many years.
Back Home, or Almost
Rafael ( better known as Raf) Grassetti has some experience with PlayStation Studios, having served as Santa Monica Studios’ Art Director during the development of God of War and its sequel Ragnarok. Before that, he contributed to other projects at Sony, from The Order 1886 to Killzone: Shadow Fall, as well as having a brief collaboration with BioWare on Mass Effect 3 and its DLC.
But his career has recently suffered a setback at Netflix. He had joined the video-on-demand giant’s AAA game project, along with other industry veterans such as Chacko Sonny (Overwatch) and Joseph Staten (Halo). Unfortunately, Netflix aborted development by closing the studio after just a few months, leaving Grassetti searching for a new job.
In the end, Grassetti found a new position at another PlayStation Studio, now working as an Art Director at Naughty Dog, as he announced on his social networks. On what project, we don’t yet know. However, he remains a valuable asset for the studio, which has yet to announce a new game.