It's nothing new to hear about people from various development companies to be shuffling around- this one, however, is a bit bigger than most.

Dan Arey, who has been with Naughty Dog for ten years, has jumped ship and joined Ready At Dawn. RAD was created by people that left Naughty Dog to form their own company in 2003.

Among the games Arey worked on during his time with Naughty Dog were Crash Bandicoot, the Jak & Daxter series on the PS2 and the upcoming Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for the PS3.

"Naughty Dog and Sony were a wonderful ride, and it was an experience I'll never forget," Arey told GI.biz in an interview published today.

"Ready at Dawn reminds me of where we were at Naughty Dog about eight years ago... RAD and my philosophy about character and IP development match very well. Designing visually interesting, compelling, emotionally rich characters, tied inextricably to great gameplay, is something we both love to do."

He leaves the company as work is still being completed on Drake's Fortune. However, he says his portion of the process was completed and this should not delay the game's release. He says Uncharted will be "A great game... People will be happy they have a PS3 once they've played Drake's Fortune."

RAD is best known for being the team behind Daxter on the PSP and are currently working on God of War: Chains of Olympus for that system. They are also working on an original IP (intellectual property) which has yet to be announced.

"The IP we're developing is amazing, and it is much bigger than just a game, but still retains amazing game potential," said Arey.

RAD president and co-founder Didier Malenfant commented, "Getting someone of Dan’s caliber is obviously a huge deal for us.

"Having spent the last four years slowly putting together the best console development team we’ve ever had the chance to work with, and Dan being one of the industry’s most acclaimed designers and creative talent, this is further proof that we have now become a force to be reckoned with."

Wow, what an amazing profile he's leaving behind at Naughty Dog, Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, Uncharted... That really reflects on what amazing developers Naughty Dog are and what an amazing talent Dan Arey is...
I have the utmost respect for Naughty Dog, as i am a massive fan of all their games, so i wish him all the best..

I also just want to say what an amazing team i think RAD are...

Ready at Dawn developed Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games, PSP conquests of Jak and Daxter (Daxter), and Ratchet and Clank (R&C:Size Matters) and did a wonderful job of it !!!!

And i believe a new PSP title in the Jak and Daxter series is due for development, (Named - Jak), has anyone else heard about this ??.... And i expect RAD will be developing this little gem too. So i expect Dan wont be losing touch with his old company Naughty Dog Inc.....

RAD have proved to be a considerable force in the gaming world, there a talented group, especially in the PSP development side of things, and i expect them to grow even more and maybe join the leagues of names like Insomniac and Naughty Dog....

Good luck to you Dan and Ready at Dawn Studios...