Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Reportedly Won’t Make 2026, Neil Druckmann Tells IGN ‘We Are Playing It at the Office and It's Incredible’

With fans eagerly awaiting the release of *The Witcher 4*, it looks like they'll have to wait until 2027, and it's a similar story for Naughty Dog’s newly announced game, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier confirmed on ResetEra that neither title will hit the market next year, meaning *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* is slated for a release no earlier than 2027.

This extended timeline raises questions about the platforms for which *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* is being developed. Will it target the PlayStation 5, the upcoming PlayStation 6, or perhaps be a cross-generation game? If Naughty Dog opts for a direct release on the PS6, they would be skipping the PS5 generation entirely for new titles. So far, the studio has only released ports, remasters, and remakes on 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, boasting a star-studded cast led by Tati Gabrielle, known from the Uncharted movie, as protagonist Jordan A. Mun, and Kumail Nanjiani from *Marvel's Eternals* as Colin Graves. Fans have been dissecting the trailer, piecing together the rest of the cast from glimpses and crew photos.

Earlier this month, Neil Druckmann, director of *The Last of Us*, provided more insight into *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. In a candid interview with Alex Garland, writer of the zombie film *28 Days Later*, Druckmann revealed that the game has been in development for four years. He humorously touched on the backlash received for creative decisions in *The Last of Us Part II*, saying, "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." Garland responded with a light-hearted, "Who gives a shit?" to which 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* explores 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 unique approach, 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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Assuming *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* launches in 2027, and considering it has been in development for four years already, the game will have been in the works for six years by the time it's released. While the wait is long, Druckmann shared with IGN at the premiere of *The Last of Us Season 2* that the game is not only playable but "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 on the iceberg. The game goes pretty deep beyond that."