New Intergalactic Report Reveals Why It Has Taken So Long for Naughty Dog to Make the Game

A new report tied to Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet has shed light on why it has taken so long for the game to arrive. Despite the PS5 generation seemingly being in its final stages, Naughty Dog has yet to release a brand-new game on the console. While it has remastered or remade The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II, the studio’s debut title on PS5, Intergalactic, is still waiting in the wings. Now, according to new information that has come to light, we seemingly have an idea of why this is the case.

According to gaming reporter Jason Schreier, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet hasn’t been the full focus of Naughty Dog for as long as PlayStation fans might think. Schreier explained in a recent video that, prior to its cancellation, the vast majority of Naughty Dog was working on its multiplayer The Last of Us project. While many initially assumed that The Last of Us Online, as the game has come to be dubbed, was simply a side project within Naughty Dog, Schreier said that this wasn’t the truth at all. As such, it wasn’t until late 2023, when Naughty Dog and PlayStation finally pulled the plug on The Last of Us Online, that Intergalactic started receiving more attention.

With this in mind, it tells us that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet hasn’t even been in full production at Naughty Dog for three years. This helps explain why news on the project has been so silent, and also makes clear why it has yet to launch. While Naughty Dog surely had the broad story and vision of Intergalactic in place prior to 2023, it has only been truly bringing the game to life since the end of that year or the start of 2024.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that Naughty Dog is one of the most detail-oriented studios on the planet. As such, while many other developers might work on their games for two or three years, Naughty Dog tends to have longer production timelines. Only once Intergalactic reaches a very high point of quality will the studio and PlayStation look to release the game. With this in mind, it might take even longer than normal for Intergalactic to reach the finish line, especially since the entirety of Naughty Dog wasn’t initially working on it.

Currently, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet doesn’t have a broad release window, but it’s widely assumed to be launching at some point in 2027 alongside PlayStation’s other major exclusive, God of War Laufey. Whenever it does arrive, it will be exclusive to PS5 consoles, with the likelihood of it coming to PC quite slim as a result of recent changes within PlayStation.

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