One of the co-creators of "The Last of Us" has left the show ahead of Season 3

Druckmann's announcement was relayed through Naughty Dog's Instagram page. Naughty Dog is the video game developer for which Druckmann is the creative head. Druckmann did not just co-create the TV show "The Last of Us," but also co-created the video games the show is based on as well. Halley Gross, who co-wrote "The Last of Us Part II" with Druckmann and was a writer on the show, has also left the HBO program.

Mazin, naturally, had a statement as well, because when significant creatives leave major TV shows, statements are essentially a requirement. However, Mazin isn't an IG guy, so his statement is of the written-for-a-press-release variety:

It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of  his brilliant work to life on HBO. I couldn’t have asked for a more generous creative partner. As a true fan of Naughty Dog and Neil’s work in video games, I’m beyond excited to play his next game. While he focuses on that, I’ll continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience has come  to expect. We are so grateful to Neil and Halley Gross for entrusting  the incredible story of "The Last of Us Part II" to us, and we’re just as grateful to the millions of people around the world who tune in.

As established earlier, Mazin isn't one to mince words, so it does seem, reasonably so, the video game people who had made the pivot to television were simply looking to move on and go back to the video game world. The fact Druckmann was running a video game studio while also co-running a TV show is pretty remarkable. Now that the ball is rolling on "The Last of Us" as a TV series, it seems like a good a time as any for Druckmann (and Gross) to leave.

It does change the dynamic for the upcoming third season of "The Last of Us," though. Mazin is, literally and figuratively, running the show, and the guy who co-created the games the show is based on, is off on other projects. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the story of season three.

(h/t Variety)