Naughty Dog's Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Delayed Beyond 2026, Druckmann Shares Office Play Experience with IGN

As fans eagerly await the next installment in the Witcher series, The Witcher 4, they'll have to keep their patience in check until at least 2027. The same goes for Naughty Dog's latest project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which also won't see the light of day until 2027 at the earliest, according to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier on ResetEra. This timeline leaves fans wondering whether these highly anticipated titles will target the PlayStation 5, the forthcoming PlayStation 6, or perhaps aim to be cross-generational experiences. If Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet heads straight to the PS6, it would mean Naughty Dog would have skipped the PS5 generation entirely for new game releases. So far, the studio has only brought ports, remasters, and remakes to the current-gen console, including titles like The Last of Us Part II, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, The Last of Us Part I, and The Last of Us Part II Remastered.

Naughty Dog unveiled Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at The Game Awards 2024, showcasing a stellar cast led by Tati Gabrielle, known from the Uncharted movie, as the protagonist Jordan A. Mun, and Kumail Nanjiani, star of Marvel's Eternals, as Colin Graves. Fans have meticulously analyzed the trailer to uncover more about the cast and story, piecing together clues from a crew photo that hints at a broader ensemble.

Earlier this month, The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann shared further insights into Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet during an interview with Alex Garland, the writer behind the zombie film 28 Days Later. Druckmann revealed that the game has been in development for four years, touching on the creative decisions that followed the polarizing reception of The Last of Us Part II. "I joke about this with the team. We made a game, The Last of Us 2, we made certain creative decisions that got us a lot of hate. A lot of people love it, but a lot of people hate that game," Druckmann remarked, to which Garland responded, "Who gives a shit?" Druckmann agreed and humorously proposed that for their next project, they tackle a less divisive theme: faith and religion.

Set in an alternate historical timeline, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet explores a significant religion that has evolved over time. Druckmann teased the storyline, explaining, "This whole religion takes place on this one planet, and then at one point, all communication stops. And you're playing a bounty hunter that's chasing her bounty, and she crash lands on this planet. So many of the previous games we've done, there's always, like, an ally with you. I really want you to be lost in a place that you're really confused about what happened here, who are the people here, what was their history. And in order to get off this planet — again, no one has been heard from this planet for 600 years or so — if you ever have hoped to have a chance to get off, you have to figure out what happened here."

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Screenshots

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If Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet launches in 2027 as expected, it will have been in development for a total of six years. While the wait is long, Druckmann shared with IGN at the red carpet premiere of The Last of Us Season 2 that the game is not only playable but also "really good." He enthused, "I will say we are playing it at the office and it's incredible. It's really good. I'm so excited to finally put gameplay out into the world and show people about it, because we just showed you the very, very, very tip of the iceberg. The game goes pretty deep beyond that."