Emilia Schatz

Emilia Schatz (born February 18, 1979) is an American video game designer best known for her work at Naughty Dog. She studied computer science at the University of North Texas, where she later worked for almost three years before searching for work in the video game industry. She was hired at Terminal Reality, where she worked as a level scripter on Re-Mission, as a level designer on BlowOut and BloodRayne 2, and as a senior game designer on Ghostbusters: The Video Game. She applied for jobs at other studios, and in 2009 was hired at Naughty Dog. She began working at Naughty Dog early in development on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, for which she designed several levels. She assisted with development of The Last of Us.

Assigned male at birth, Schatz came out as transgender in 2012, when she began her gender transition, and came out to the company in March 2014. She was promoted to co-lead game designer for the development of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. In this role, she often worked alongside Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann, and she helped to work on the game's accessibility options. She was co-lead game designer for the development of The Last of Us Part II, during which she continued to lead the company's accessibility efforts. Her work and image in the industry has been praised and awarded.