Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is in ‘last stages’ as 2027 looks certain

Comments by Neil Druckmann imply Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will be out next year and that the game is nearly finished.

It bears repeating that Naughty Dog has not released an entirely new game since The Last Of Us Part 2 in 2020, having spent the entire PlayStation 5 generation thus far on remakes and remasters.

Part of that can be blamed on Sony’s push for more live service games, since Naughty Dog was meant to be working on a Last Of Us themed one, only for it to be canned in 2023 despite apparently nearly being finished.

Now, Naughty Dog seems recommitted to new single-player games and its next one, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, has been given a positive sounding update.

Neil Druckmann, studio head and Intergalactic creative director, recently appeared on a Comic Creators Block Party 2026 livestream hosted by Patton Oswalt, who tried fishing for info on the game.

Obviously, Druckmann didn’t share too much, but he was willing to divulge that Intergalactic is now in ‘the last stages of production’ and is in a playable state.

‘I can’t talk too much about it, but we’re kind of like at the last stages of production, where we can play it, and we’re refining it and polishing it, and I can’t wait to show it to the world,’ said Druckmann.

Naughty Dog did already promise to share an update on Intergalactic in 2027, but Druckmann’s comments mean the game could launch next year as well. Maybe even by the halfway point that Naughty Dog is reportedly aiming for.

This would also mean Intergalactic would see a physical release, making it one of the last ones to come from Sony as the company plans to go all-digital after 2027.

Of course, all this is subject to change, but at the very least Druckmann has assured fans that the promised 2027 update will be substantial, confirming that actual gameplay will be shown. So, no need to worry about just getting another pre-rendered trailer.

Druckmann also described the game as a combination of Naughty Dog’s previous three franchises – The Last Of Us, Uncharted, and Jak And Daxter – but only in that the team is trying to blend the ‘serious drama,’ the ‘pulp action adventure stuff,’ and ‘sci-fi/fantasy’ aspects of each.

Aside from that, Naughty Dog is confirmed to be working on two new Last Of Us projects, although both are still in the very early stages of production. It’s also rumoured to be finally making Uncharted 5, with Uncharted: The Lost Legacy director Shaun Escayg spearheading the new entry.

You can rule out any of Naughty Dog’s projects being another crack at a live service game, since Sony seems to be finally (and we do mean finally) giving up its obsession.

Just yesterday, it was reported that heist multiplayer shooter Fairgames had been cancelled. With so many other live service projects cancelled within Sony, and Horizon Hunters Gathering supposedly being retooled into a traditional co-op game, Sony has no other live service games in development outside of continued support for Helldivers 2 and Marathon.

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