How a Naughty Dog founder navigated the high-stakes collapse of a major gaming publisher
In short: Jason Rubin, the co-founder of Naughty Dog and architect of the Crash Bandicoot phenomenon, once took the helm of the struggling publisher THQ. His tenure ended in a complex bankruptcy, yet his efforts helped preserve the studio teams and products that defined a generation of iconic video games.
Jason Rubin co-founded Naughty Dog in 1984 with Andy Gavin, eventually creating industry-defining titles like Crash Bandicoot and the Jak and Daxter series. During their 18-year tenure, the duo produced fourteen original games that generated over $1 billion in revenue and sold more than 35 million units. Following his departure from Naughty Dog in 2004, Rubin continued his career in technology and media, including co-founding the startup Flektor and creating comic book series like The Iron Saint.
In May 2012, Rubin joined THQ as president, inheriting a company that had already lost over 99% of its stock value and was undergoing massive layoffs. Despite his efforts to restructure, the publisher filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2013. While creditors initially questioned the management's conduct during the sale process, Judge Mary F. Walrath dismissed these claims as conspiracy theories, and creditors eventually released Rubin and the management team from any allegations of malfeasance.
The bankruptcy proceedings ultimately led to an auction of THQ's assets rather than a single sale. This process proved successful for the company's creative output; development teams such as Relic, Volition, and THQ Montreal remained intact under new ownership, ensuring that titles like Metro: Last Light and Saints Row reached completion. Rubin later transitioned into virtual reality, joining Oculus VR in 2014 and eventually becoming the vice president of Metaverse Content at Meta Platforms in 2021.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Jason Rubin
- Also: Wikidata — Jason Rubin · CC0
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