The Initiative Hires Former Naughty Dog Melee Animation Lead - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 05 November 2020 / 1,196 Views
Microsoft's first-party studio, The Initiative, has been hiring talented video game developers at a steady rate and now according to his LinkedIn profile, Lee Davis has joined the team as the lead gameplay animator.
Chambers previously worked at Sony's Naughty Dog studio as the head of melee animation. He worked on Uncharted 2, Uncharted 4, and both The Last of Us titles. He has also worked as an animator at Electronic Arts, Liquid Development, Technicolor Interactive, and Terminal Reality Inc.
Nothing is confirmed what The Initiative are currently developing. However, Head of Xbox Phil has previously said the studios is working on new and old things.
Great update today with [Darrell Gallagher], [Matt Booty] and the team [at The Initiative]," said Spencer at the time. "Incredibly talented studio challenging themselves to do new things things (and old things) in new ways."
The tease of "old things" could mean the developer is working on a legacy Xbox IP that has not seen a new release in many years.
Former Head of Melee Animation at Naughty Dog Lee Davis joins The Initiative as the Lead Gameplay Animator. He worked on The Last of Us I & II, Uncharted 4 & Uncharted 2.
— Klobrille (@klobrille) October 13, 2020
As with previous hires, the studio seems to aim for a highly-skilled animation team. https://t.co/TWISUoeoo3 pic.twitter.com/wLkGbLudhk
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
