Former Naughty Canine boss Evan Wells is about to obtain The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS)’s Corridor of Fame Award at this yr’s DICE summit.
Wells, who retired from Naughty Canine in 2023 after greater than 25 years, might be introduced the award by longtime collaborator and present Naughty Canine boss, Neil Druckmann, on February 12, 2026, on the Aria Resort in Las Vegas.
Wells began his profession at Sega within the 90s, engaged on ToeJam & Earl, earlier than becoming a member of Naughty Canine and finally rising to the highest of the studio.
Wells oversaw the corporate’s ascent from platformer developer to Sony‘s crown jewel in its first-party line-up, and was lead designer and director of a number of video games, together with Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Jak and Daxter, and extra.
He turned co-president of Naughty Canine in 2004 and oversaw the studio because it created franchises akin to Uncharted and The Final of Us.
“Naughty Canine was in a position to create some really unimaginable video games and depart a long-lasting mark on the business due to Evan’s unwavering management and the belief he positioned in all of us,” stated Druckmann.
“I do know I converse for a lot of throughout the business after I congratulate Evan on this well-deserved recognition. It’s a profound honor to current him with this Corridor of Fame induction.”
Meggan Scavio, president of the AIAS, added: “We’re honored to acknowledge Evan Wells for his a long time of inventive management and his profound influence on the video games business. All through his tenure at Naughty Canine, Evan has exemplified what it means to guide with imaginative and prescient, integrity, and a deep respect for the craft.
“His dedication to nurturing expertise and pushing inventive boundaries has formed generations of builders and impressed thousands and thousands of gamers around the globe. It’s a privilege to have fun his exceptional legacy on the twenty ninth Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.”
Earlier recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award embrace Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln (2006), Ken Kutaragi (2007), Doug Lowenstein (2009), Bing Gordon (2010), Satoru Iwata (2015), Genyo Takeda (2017) and Phil Spencer (2022).
