Former Naughty Dog president Evan Wells has been selected as the latest inductee into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) Hall of Fame, with the honor to be conferred during the 29th D.I.C.E. Awards on February 12 at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas.
A veteran of more than 30 years in the video game industry, Wells began his career as a designer on ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron before moving to Crystal Dynamics to work as a programmer on Gex and later as lead designer on Gex: Enter the Gecko. He joined Naughty Dog in 1998, where he served as lead designer and director on Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Crash Team Racing, and the Jak and Daxter trilogy. Wells rose to co-president in 2004, guiding Naughty Dog through the studio’s peak era as it developed Uncharted and The Last of Us, and he became the studio’s sole president in 2017. He also acted as an executive producer for both franchises’ on-screen adaptations, including the 2022 film Uncharted and HBO’s The Last of Us series. Wells retired from Naughty Dog in 2023.
In presenting this year’s induction, the AIAS recognizes Wells for a career that bridged design leadership and executive stewardship at one of the industry’s most influential studios. Neil Druckmann, Naughty Dog studio head and head of creative, praised Wells in a press release, saying: “Naughty Dog was able to create some truly incredible games and leave a lasting mark on the industry because of Evan’s unwavering leadership and the trust he placed in all of us. I know I speak for many across the industry when I congratulate Evan on this well-deserved recognition. It’s a profound honor to present him with this Hall of Fame induction.”
The AIAS Hall of Fame has a distinguished history of inductees who helped shape interactive entertainment, with a current list that includes Ted Price (2025), Koji Kondo (2024), Tim Schafer (2022), Ed Boon (2021), Connie Booth (2020), Bonnie Ross (2019), Todd Howard (2017), Hideo Kojima (2016), Leslie Benzies (2014), Dan and Sam Houser (2014), and Tim Sweeney (2012).
The D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas as part of the D.I.C.E. line-up, continuing a tradition of industry recognition that positively reflects Wells’ long-standing influence on Naughty Dog and the broader games business. Archival conversation with Wells and Druckmann from 2021 offers additional context on Naughty Dog’s history and studio philosophy, underscoring Wells’ role in shaping the studio’s trajectory.