Naughty Dog's Intergalactic Delayed Past 2026, Druckmann Says 'Incredible'

With the wait for *The Witcher 4* set to extend into 2027, fans of *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*, Naughty Dog's newly announced title, will have to exercise similar patience. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier confirmed on ResetEra that neither game will see a release in the coming year, suggesting that *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* won't hit shelves until at least 2027. This timeline raises questions about the game's target platform—whether it will be designed for the PlayStation 5, the anticipated PlayStation 6, or as a cross-generational title. If *Intergalactic* launches directly on the PS6, it would mean Naughty Dog has bypassed the PS5 generation for new releases, sticking to ports, remasters, and remakes such as *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, spotlighting a star-studded cast featuring Tati Gabrielle from the *Uncharted* movie as protagonist Jordan A. Mun, and Kumail Nanjiani of *Marvel's Eternals* as Colin Graves. Fans have been dissecting the trailer to uncover more about the cast, with a crew photo hinting at additional characters.

Earlier this month, *The Last of Us* director Neil Druckmann shared further insights into the development of *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. In a candid 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. Reflecting on past projects, Druckmann humorously noted the polarizing reception to *The Last of Us 2*, saying, "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." To which Garland replied, "Who gives a shit?"

Druckmann continued, "But the joke is like, you know what, let's do something that people won't care as much about—let's make a game about faith and religion." *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* is set in an alternate historical timeline, centered around a significant religion that has evolved over time. The narrative follows a bounty hunter, Jordan A. Mun, who crash-lands on a mysterious planet where communication has ceased for centuries. Druckmann emphasized the game's focus on exploration and mystery: "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... you have to figure out what happened here."

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Screenshots

4 Images

Given the game's projected 2027 release and its four years of development to date, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will have been in the works for six years by launch. Despite the long wait, Druckmann, speaking to IGN at the premiere of The Last of Us Season 2, expressed enthusiasm about the game's progress: "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."