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

With the anticipation for *The Witcher 4* extending into 2027, it's a similar scenario for Naughty Dog's newly announced *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier confirmed on ResetEra that neither *The Witcher 4* nor *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* will see a release next year. This means fans of *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* can expect a release no earlier than 2027, mirroring *The Witcher 4*. Both games will likely face questions about their target platforms—whether they're aimed at the PlayStation 5, the upcoming PlayStation 6, or if they'll be cross-gen titles.

If *Intergalactic* is released directly for the PS6, Naughty Dog risks skipping the PS5 generation for new titles. So far, the studio has primarily 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*.

Naughty Dog unveiled *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* at The Game Awards 2024, featuring a star-studded cast including 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 the broader cast, with a crew photo hinting at more characters.

Earlier this month, *The Last of Us* director Neil Druckmann provided further insights into *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. In an interview with Alex Garland, the writer behind the zombie film *28 Days Later*, Druckmann discussed the development journey, revealing that *Intergalactic* has been in the works for four years.

"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 lightheartedly, "Who gives a shit?"

"Exactly," Druckmann agreed. "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 and features a "pretty prominent religion" that has evolved significantly 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 further elaborated on the game's unique setting, 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 Druckmann’s comment about four years of development so far, the game will have been in development for six years by its release. Although it's a long wait, Druckmann shared at the red carpet event for The Last of Us Season 2 premiere that the game is not only playable but "really good."

"I will say we are playing it at the office and it's incredible," Druckmann enthused. "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."