After 18 years with the company, longtime game director and artist Bruce Straley is leaving Naughty Dog.

Straley announced his departure on the Naughty Dog blog today saying that, after a number of demanding projects and an extended hiatus, he has decided to move on from the company. As of last December, Straley had been on a year-long sabbatical after serving as co-director on The Last of Us, its expansion Left Behind, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. 

“This has been the hardest decision of my career. Naughty Dog is home. The Kennel is family. I’ve learned and grown so much from working with this incredible team,” said Straley. “But after heading up three extremely demanding projects, and taking some extended time away from the office, I found my energy focusing in other directions, and I slowly realized this was the signal that it’s time to move on.”

Straley first joined Naughty Dog in 1999 as an artist for Crash Team Racing. He would go on to continue his work as an artist for the Jak and Daxter series before serving as the co-art director on Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and game director for future Uncharted and The Last of Us entries. 

In his post, Straley notes that he doesn’t have anything to announce in regards to his next project or position, but that he is excited to “continue the journey into the creative process” in the next chapter of his career.