Naughty Dog's 'Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet' Delayed Past 2026, Says Neil Druckmann

As the wait for *The Witcher 4* stretches into 2027, fans of Naughty Dog's newly announced *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* are in for a similar wait. According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier on ResetEra, neither game is slated for release next year. This means *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* is looking at a release in 2027 at the earliest, sparking discussions about whether it will target the PlayStation 5, the upcoming PlayStation 6, or opt for a cross-gen approach.

If *Intergalactic* launches directly on the PS6, Naughty Dog will have skipped the PS5 generation for new titles, having only released ports, remasters, and remakes 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* on the current-gen console.

Naughty Dog unveiled *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* at The Game Awards 2024, boasting a star-studded cast that includes Tati Gabrielle from the Uncharted movie as protagonist Jordan A. Mun and Kumail Nanjiani of Marvel's Eternals as Colin Graves. Fans have scrutinized the trailer to identify more of the cast, with a photo revealing additional crew members.

Earlier this month, Neil Druckmann, director of *The Last of Us*, shared further insights into *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. In an interview with Alex Garland, the writer of *28 Days Later*, Druckmann revealed that the game has been in development for four years. He humorously reflected on the backlash from *The Last of Us Part II*, saying, "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," to which Garland responded, "Who gives a shit?" Druckmann continued, "Exactly. 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 with a significant focus on a 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, "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's been in development for four years, the game will have been in the works for a total of six years by release. While the wait is long, Druckmann shared with IGN on the red carpet ahead of *The Last of Us Season 2* premiere 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."