
Naughty Dog is currently deep in development on its next big action adventure game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and it seems things are moving along nicely.
When the sci-fi title was announced back at The Game Awards 2024, no release window was attached, so exactly when it's coming is up for debate.
However, what's interesting is a fresh batch of job advertisements for the studio, all to do with quality assurance and localisation — roles that usually come into play at the tail end of production.
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube166k
These job ads have found their way onto social media, of course, where it's speculated that hiring for positions like this means Intergalactic is nearing the end of development, and could be further along than we think.
We can see the logic, even if it does seem a little bit of a stretch.
There are a couple of things to consider, the main one being Sony's current approach to how it announces and promotes its upcoming games.
In recent years, PlayStation has settled into a pattern in which it announces projects much closer to their launch date than it used to.
Games like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Marvel's Wolverine were announced before this new pattern was established, but Ghost of Yotei, for instance, was released just over a year after its announcement trailer. Saros will be about the same.
However, Sony has already confirmed two games for 2026 — the aforementioned Saros, launching in March, and Marvel's Wolverine, arriving in the Fall.
Given how Sony has been pacing out its first party releases, we're more inclined to think that Intergalactic is being reserved for 2027.
This would go against that rule of announcing things closer to when they're done, but this is Naughty Dog, a studio notorious for delays and perfectionism.
If it's getting into quality assurance and localisation now, we can imagine the team polishing and polishing this game until it's spotless, and that could well take them into the year after next.
Anyway, it's always interesting to think about these things, and who knows? Maybe Intergalactic really will launch sooner than we think.
What do you reckon? Tell us in the comments section below.
[source x.com, via thegamer.com]





Comments 49
Here we go! And I mean that in more ways than one.
Heck, this might be a PS6 launch title at this point.
Last of us part 2 was released in 2020; more and more likely ND will have just one game published on this gen
Next year could be massive for Sony if they can get these four games out,
Saros
Wolverine
Marvel Tokon
Intergalactic
Plus the massive amount of consoles they will shift once GTA releases.
You forgot Marathon(and Marvel Tokon) 😭
I can't wait for this game, hopefully it's another one that proves the haters wrong much like Yotei has done.
I don’t think the existence of other first party games next year prohibits this from also releasing.
Didn’t TLoU 2 and GoT release about a month apart?
@BearsEatBeets
Yes, and the same year they also released Miles Morales, Demon Souls remake, Sackboy [and Astro's Playroom]
It should also be noted that 2027 will also likely to be crowded, if it fell then. 2027 will mark 5 years since Forbidden West and Ragnarok and both studios would be expected to release games in that period(FW was 5 years and 1 month after ZD, Ragnarok was 4 years 10 months and also Saros and GoY are basically within a month or two of 5 years exactly also)
Regardless of when it release, one thing for sure many game devs will be doing everything they can to stay far away from GTA 6 release windows 😂😂😂
Just as a reminder Stephen, Sony have also announced Marvel Tokon for 2026, so they have three games slated so far.
Before more people start saying the same thing, as usual. These are normal development times for new IP’s. Especially for games from Naughty Dog which creates worlds with far more depth and detail than most other studios.
People need to stop comparing development times to the PS3 and PS4 era, games take way more development time nowadays, especially if you’re making a quality game.
Remember this is the studio behind games like, The Last of Us, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and The Last of Us 2. All Game of the Year winners. This is not the next FIFA or Call of Duty.
This studio gets way too much flack for this, but it’s not just them. Rockstar has been working on GTA6 for over a decade now. Cyberpunk took about 8 years to develop. Same with Starfield. Elder Scrolls 6 was announced back in 2018! All renowned studios with huge budgets. That’s just the reality of AAA game development nowadays. Quality takes time.
And If people are upset that this might be ND’s only game this gen, then so be it. Let’s stop rushing studios in to releasing unfinished games. It’ll be ready when it’s ready. Suck it up, sh*t happens
@LogicStrikesAgain excellent comment, will also add, Naughty Dog were also making Fractions 2 for years before it was scrapped. Like we know ND are one of the best studio's in the world but their not miracle workers lol
It would be awesome if this releases in 2026! Sony just needs to keep an eye out on GTA6’s release, and make sure their own titles dont release too close to it, especially if GTA gets delayed to later in the year.
Not saying it’s guaranteed, but if Intergalactic gets added to Saros, , Marathon, Marvel Tokon and Wolverine, in the 2026 lineup, that could be an incredible year for Playstation Studios
My guess is early-ish 2027.
Just far enough away from Wolverine. Sony also have form when it comes to launching big games in Feb/Mar as per Soros March 2026.
I am sure this will be the closer of current gen and next benchmark for gaming just like The Last of Us with PS3 and Part II with PS4; so I am waiting 2027. We have been talking about RDR2&PartII for years when comes to benchmark and we will start doing it again with GTAVI&Intergalactic.
If it's close to the release of the PS6, I'll probably wait for the next gen remaster.
We all know it will happen a lot, next gen as well 😂
Sony is going to end the generation strong... It's been a good year really for them. Death Stranding and Yotei were both excellent. Saros & Wolverine are coming up and then they end the generation with this, honestly... pretty awesome to be fair.
Naughty Dog are the flagship Sony studio (IMO) This is going to be oh so good.
I'm just not feeling this, the gameplay looks like a Disney Star Wars show and the actress in Season 2 of TLOU didn't really stand out.
I hope I'm proven wrong but would much prefer a third TLOU game.
Saros: March
Marvel Tokon: April-June
Intergalactic: July-September
Wolverine: Fall (October-December)
Marathon: delayed 2027
2.5D GoW / Cory Barlog new IP: 2027 or PS6 launch title
Fairgames: quietly cancelled?
The rest like Bend, Firesprite, Bluepoint, Asobi, Guerilla, and PD are possibly already working on PS6 games.
I do hope gameplay is front and centre rather than an overbearing story.
I finally got around to TLOFU 1, Holy beeping crap was it good, really good
Have yet to start 2, finally giving Hogwarts full attention( holy ***** it's amazing) .
But I think I'm officially hyped for this
I am definitely seeing this as a cross-gen title, and that is despite the fact I think PS6 won’t appear until 2028.
Even in the worst case scenario, I predict a very short window between this game being released and the PS6 launching.
So in my view anyone with an interest in this game, and who is considering buying a PS6, should avoid playing this game on PS5 so as to avoid having the experience unnecessarily held back by hardware.
At the minimum, I expect a small backwards compatibility patch when the PS6 launches, but more likely a native PS6 version showing off all the new hardware features.
Although in truth, what I’ve seen so far of the game, which isn’t very much, doesn’t get my juices flowing.
so guys do we think trailer #2 will be shown in about a month at this years game awards? or will Sony bust open this game in a dedicated SOP? I'm hoping GA in Dec
@Jammer There was only one trailer and there was no gameplay shown, so not sure if you mean that 3 second clip where she swipes her sword? if so its not possible to label the aesthetic of the game "disney" in that short of a clip
@Vermines 100%. I found that cool too. The bottom of her sword is round and looks like it can hold a CD. My theory all along was, since they are using licensed music, that her sword grip has that CD player, she has different CD's of music that can be installed in the sword, which supple different affects to the weapon. The type of music depends on what kind of enemie you are facing. Metal is logically more aggressive for the bosses. Lol idk, just my theory.
@UltimateOtaku91 don't forget the rumored god of war 2d game as well.
@StitchJones
That would be an awesome gameplay detail. Would love to see it in action and spend the game collecting CD's to make the sword more powerful etc. Now im going to be disappointed if Naughty Dog dont do this.
I love that picture with the energy sword.
@BearsEatBeets Exactly, I can definitely see Intergalactic releasing in 2026, even close to other first-party. July or November/December could be realistic too.
However, I'm biased to believe will release sooner rather than later, because this is my most anticipated game of the year, lol.
@Vermines @Thelegend159 Yeah, I have a biased opinion because it was my theory lol, but I agree. And that would kind of automatically fill in the soundtrack during battles as well. Maybe Trent and Atticus's score they are doing will be more for the exploration and story beats. Listen, i don't care, cause we all know its ND. This game is gonna blow us away. I'm just sure of it. Anyone denying is still sour about TLOU2. And i say, get over it.
Will this game have cosmetic options, like hairstyles?
@8bit4Life a whole battlepass worth of beanies to unlock
Very exciting.
Great stories in their games but I think from what I've seen, the gameplay is going to really hit here.
The evolution of their gameplay across Uncharted 1 through to 4, and TLOU>TLOU2 is honestly night and day. they've tightened up so well. Hopefully this is a continuation
Loved the aesthetic of the trailer but until I see some gameplay I can’t get hyped.
@8bit4Life ngl this is a dealbreaker XD
It comes out in 2027 😉
@LogicStrikesAgain
Naughty Dog spent too much time on the failed Last of Us online project, which was eventually canceled. As a large studio with 400 developers, it's confirmed that they are working on multiple projects simultaneously. If Naughty Dog hadn't wasted time on that online project, they could have focused entirely on Intergalactic and Last of Us 3, potentially releasing both games between 2024 and 2027.
@Striker21 Sure, but it has happened. People need to just accept that fact. Sometimes strategies just dont go according to plan, thats part of game development. Learn from it, pivot, and move on, is all they can do. Can’t go on endlessly with this coulda woulda shoulda.
Still stands that game development takes a lot of time nowadays, especially for a studio who consistently makes some of the best games.
And as I’ve pointed out in my previous post, it can even take up to 8+ years for a single game
@LogicStrikesAgain
You're absolutely right. Sony itself acknowledged this when it recognized that its AAA first-party studio shines at creating outstanding single-player games rather than live service flops. Naughty Dog is now fully focused on single-player projects again, promising an impressive lineup over the next five years with a steady release schedule, just as it should have been all along.
@Striker21 Naught Dog isnt some basic studio though, they deliver some of the highest quality games. I’d much rather see them take 6-7 years and come out with another GOTY contender, in stead of rushing out games every 4-5 years.
You mention ND having 400 employees, but remember, they released The Last of Us 2 just 5 years ago, a full remake of The Last of Us 3 years ago, and even a whole new Grounded mode last year. Meanwhile, Rockstar has 2000 employees (5x larger than ND), and their last game released 7 years ago. Even with large teams and high budgets, quality takes time
@LogicStrikesAgain
There’s no solid evidence that a truly GOTY-level AAA single-player game requires 6-7 years of development. Claiming that Naughty Dog absolutely needs 6-7 years to make a good game lacks any factual backing. It feels more like copium to defend Sony’s wrong decision to shift its first-party studios entirely toward live service games.
Naughty Dog's next major project after releasing The Last of Us Part 2 was intended to be Fractions, an online live-service game set in The Last of Us universe, which was ultimately canceled. If they hadn’t spent time on this failed live-service project, they might have had enough time between 2020 and 2025 to fully develop The Last of Us Part 3 with complete focus on the game's development.
It's absurd to compare Naughty Dog with Rockstar. Naughty Dog is an AAA studio focused on creating fully single-player AAA games, while Rockstar develops massive live service games. Do you really think the next GTA will have a billion-dollar budget solely for the single-player mode? It won’t, because GTA is essentially a live service game with a high-quality single-player story and GTA Online. The nearly $1 billion budget for the next GTA covers the base game, DLCs, season passes, and other content to sustain engagement for years, just like other live service games. Destiny 2 and Call of Duty reportedly have budgets between $400-500 million, but that includes the whole lifecycle of the live service game, not just the campaign story.
Naughty Dog had plenty of time to develop and release its next game between 2020 and 2025, but they squandered it on a failed online game that ended up being canceled, causing delays and disrupting their release lineup.
@Striker21
I wasn’t claiming that. You were the one suggesting they should have had a game released by now. What i said was i’d rather see them take 6-7 years rather than rush something out every 4-5 years. Didnt know i had to back up a personal opinion with evidence lol.
Thank you, i am well aware of what happened. And as i said, creative endeavours dont always pan out, thats just part of game development. Many games get cancelled behind the scenes all the time. You learn from it, pivot and move on.
You keep going back to what could have been, but its no guarantee that the Last of Us 3 would have released by now even if Factions never existed. Evidence? Factual backing?
You also leave out the part where they developed and released a full remake of The Last of Us during that period. You can’t say they didnt do anything, even if you dont like what they did.
Regarding the GTA comparison, fair enough. But i did mention other studios having very long development cycles this generation, i think you know ND is far from the exception here. If you dont agree that quality games take time to develop, thats fine. We’ll probably just have agree to disagree, cause i feel like we are just going to keep repeating our arguments
it will release the same year as the ps6. 2027 seems likely for this one.
@Striker21 how you get your stats slightly wrong? 1 billion is just to create game, story and online. Now with delays it is even more. And another 1 nillion was planned as post launch support for online for up to 10 years. All that speculation etc, but full cycle GTA budget is/was planned over 2 billion.
@REALAIS
lol
How do these clarifications even address the main point of my argument? The entire argument revolves around the fact that you can't compare Naughty Dog's games with GTA, as the latter is a live service game, and its budget includes all the content for its entire lifecycle. It doesn't matter whether it's 1 or 2 billion; that's not the point of the discussion. We don't know the exact budget for the next GTA, but rumors and estimates suggest it could be between $1 billion and $2 billion.
@Striker21 it was from leaks. 1 billion development. Another billion for live service lifespan.
Yes, those companies cant be compared in scale etc. But high quality AAA takes more than 5 years in making. And there is full of evidence for that. Even some AA games takes long time
@REALAIS
Once again, there’s no comparison. Most AAA productions follow a standard five-year development cycle with an average budget of 150-200 billion. And I’m specifically referring to single-player AAA games. The GTA development, on the other hand, is a far more ambitious project, spanning nearly a decade of work to include massive content aimed at sustaining engagement for years.
Naughty Dog's scheduling was disrupted because too much time was spent on the failed live service project that ended up being canceled. If they had focused solely on the next Last of Us Part 3 from the start, it could have been completed and released by 2024-2025. However, this is not Naughty Dog's fault, but rather Sony's misguided strategy of forcing their single-player studio to develop live service games in the first place.
@Striker21 I would say, it was time to move from TLOU. 2nd game compared to 1st game bombed. Yes, it was still "good" enough on individual numbers, but 2nd game sold only 50% of 1st game. 3rd game would drop even more likely. Hopefully Intergalactic will be awsome.
@REALAIS
I know the second game was commercially weaker, but Naughty Dog needs to finish the trilogy with a third and final installment.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...