Naughty Dog was founded in 1986 by 16-year-olds Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. Originally called JAM software, Naughty Dog’s first game was Ski Crazed, an Apple II video game that, according to the developer "almost, but not quite, completely failed to evoke the thrill of downhill skiing." After signing on with publisher Electronic Arts, JAM renamed itself to Naughty Dog and produced Keep the Thief for PC and home computers, followed by 1992’s Rings of Power for Sega Genesis. In 1994, Naughty Dog signed a three-project deal with Universal Interactive Studios and released Way of the Warrior for the 3DO. Naughty Dog moved from Boston to Los Angeles and unleashes its talked-about PlayStation platformer, Crash Bandicoot in August 1996. In the three years following the hit release, Naughty Dog puts out two full-fledged sequels as well as the Crash-based cart racer, Crash Team Racing.

After it became clear that Naughty Dog was one of the few companies that were pushing the envelope on PS2 from a technical standpoint, Sony finally purchased Naughty Dog in January 2001 to strengthen first-party development.

With the Crash series now in the hands of Universal Interactive, Naughty Dog is focusing its efforts on creating new franchise titles for Sony’s PS2 console.