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

As fans eagerly await the release of *The Witcher 4*, they'll have to exercise similar patience for Naughty Dog's newly announced title, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier on ResetEra, neither game will hit the shelves next year, setting a tentative release window for both in 2027 at the earliest. This news raises questions about which console generation *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* will target—whether it's the PlayStation 5, the anticipated PlayStation 6, or possibly a cross-gen release.

If *Intergalactic* bypasses the PS5 and goes straight to the PS6, Naughty Dog would be skipping an entire console generation in terms of new game releases. So far, the studio has focused on ports, remasters, and remakes for the PS5, including *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*.

*Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* was unveiled at The Game Awards 2024, showcasing a star-studded cast led by Tati Gabrielle from the Uncharted movie as the 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, Neil Druckmann, the director of *The Last of Us*, shared more about *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* in an interview with Alex Garland, the writer of the zombie film *28 Days Later*. Druckmann revealed that the game has been in development for four years already, highlighting the creative challenges they face. He mentioned, "We made *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," to which Garland responded, "Who gives a shit?" Druckmann agreed, adding, "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."

Set in an alternate historical timeline, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* delves into a significant religion that has evolved over time. Druckmann teased, "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." He emphasized the game's focus on solitude and mystery, stating, "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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With *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* slated for a 2027 release, the game will have been in development for a total of six years. Despite the long wait, Druckmann remains optimistic. Speaking to IGN on the red carpet at the premiere of *The Last of Us* Season 2, he shared that the game is not only playable but "really good." He teased, "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 on the iceberg. The game goes pretty deep beyond that."