Naughty Dog closed last year’s Video Game Awards by finally showcasing their newest IP, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which they had been hinting at for a few years prior. Heading into the award season again, where announcements and trailers can be expected, some people might be hoping that games like this to get some form of showcase, but it sounds like we will need to wait longer for some official news.
This conversation was kicked off by Journalist Colin Moriarty, who suggested he believed Naughty Dog was aiming for a 2026 release date, a suggestion quickly picked up by multiple publications right after the statement was made. This led to him quickly backtracking, stating this was just him “Speculating,” but by this point, the larger conversation had spiraled.
This was in contrast to a conversation between Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet director Neil Druckmann and 28 Years Later director Alex Garland that took place back in March. Druckmann stated that development still has “a ways to go” on the project. During this same month, reporter Jason Schreier stated the game would not launch in 2026, something he stated was also true about The Witcher IV, which was similarly announced during the VGAs. This brings us to now, where Schreier repeated this statement, placing the potential launch as something in 2027 at its earliest, and potentially set to skip the PS5 generation. Journalist Jeff Grubb spoke as well, claiming we were not set to receive another showing of the game during this year’s VGAs.
This shouldn’t be that shocking, given the game’s relative quiet since the time of its announcement. First-party titles tend to be announced well in advance of their release date, though companies have attempted to make some course corrections in recent years, with many events focusing on near-future titles rather than far out, but Naughty Dog has been known to tease titles far from release. This is compounded by rumors that the game has been in development for roughly 5 years, making the gestation cycle of development rather lengthy, all things considered.
This might come as a disappointment to some, given that this same timeframe during the PS3 and PS4 era saw multiple releases of games by the studio. This being said, Druckmann has been vocally confident in the game’s quality. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet features a dark sci-fi that will explore themes of faith and religion, and will feature performances from Tati Gabrielle, Jordan A. Mun, and Kumail Nanjiani.
Remember to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Bluesky to keep up to date on everything we have going on!
