As fans eagerly await the release of *The Witcher 4*, they'll have to exercise similar patience for Naughty Dog's newly announced game, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier confirmed on ResetEra that neither title will see the light of day in the coming year, setting their earliest release for 2027. This timeline raises questions about whether *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* will target the PlayStation 5, the upcoming PlayStation 6, or opt for a cross-gen release. Should it launch directly on PS6, Naughty Dog risks bypassing the PS5 generation entirely, having so far focused on ports, remasters, and remakes such as *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*.
Unveiled at The Game Awards 2024, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* boasts a star-studded cast with Tati Gabrielle, known from the *Uncharted* movie, playing the protagonist Jordan A. Mun, and Kumail Nanjiani from *Marvel's Eternals* as Colin Graves. Fans have scoured the trailer to identify additional cast members, with a crew photo hinting at an expansive ensemble.
Earlier this month, Neil Druckmann, the director of *The Last of Us*, provided more insights into *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. In a candid interview with Alex Garland, the writer of *28 Days Later*, Druckmann revealed the game has been in development for four years. Reflecting on past projects, he mentioned, "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 humorously responded, "Who gives a shit?" Druckmann added, "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."
Set in an alternate historical timeline, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet* delves into a significant 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, 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, the game will have been in development for six years by then. Despite the lengthy wait, Druckmann remains optimistic. Speaking to IGN at the premiere of *The Last of Us* Season 2, he shared, "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."
