The Heretic Prophet Continues the Trend Naughty Dog Started With Last of Us
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is a game that few saw coming. While most knew that Naughty Dog had to be working on something, the cancellation of The Last of Us Factions 2 live service game had most assuming that the studio was going dark for a while. Instead, ND Creative Director Neil Druckmann had a major surprise for everyone. Almost a year ago, at The Game Awards 2024, The Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet trailer debuted and blew everyone away.
Since then, we haven’t seen much from Intergalactic and, despite an incorrect rumor, it doesn’t seem like that will change for 2025. In fact, it seems more likely that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is still at least another year away, putting on track to repeat a trend for Naughty Dog and the PlayStation platform. It’s one that I was hoping Naughty Dog might be able to break at some point, but with development timelines being what they are, the chances seem slim.
Intergalactic Will Be One of the Last PS5 Games
Assuming that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet doesn’t release until 2027 at the earliest, Naughty Dog’s latest would likely be one of the last games released for the PlayStation 5. It’s also possible that the game could be a cross-gen title, available for both PS5 and PlayStation 6. Whatever the case may be, the game has to be focused on current-gen hardware since Sony wouldn’t have Naughty Dog abandon the PS5 install base with one of its biggest developers.
Intergalactic May Be Bittersweet For Fans of One Franchise
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is well on its way, and shows some promise, but it could spell trouble for fans of an older Naughty Dog franchise.
While Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet being one of the last PlayStation 5 exclusives is great for the hardware and Sony, it continues a trend that I was hoping might change for Naughty Dog with the longer development timeline. Two of Naughty Dog’s best games, in my opinion, The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2 were also released towards the tail end of their respective consoles’ lifecycles, which left me wondering what they could have looked like on next-gen hardware. Intergalactic being the last PS5 game and not a PS6 game would follow that same trend.
In the grand scheme of things, there are benefits to being one of the last exclusives to release on a platform. From a sales perspective, it’s great because you are guaranteed the strongest install base possible. Both The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2 are huge successes for Sony, delivering incredible sales on PS3 and PS4, respectively.
The Last of Us Series Sales Numbers on Launch Platform
- The Last of Us: 12.7 Million (PS3)
- The Last of Us Part Two: +10 Million (PS4)
The other major benefit is that, by the end of the console’s lifecycle, developers have figured out how to leverage the hardware to its full potential. While launch games wow in their own ways, they typically don’t have the stability that a later-lifecycle release does. Just look at both The Last of Us and Part Two, both of those games look just as good, if not better, than many of the games that were released years after on more powerful hardware.
Honestly, I would just like to see what Naughty Dog can do with newer hardware, even if there are knocks against that approach. Every one of the studio’s games are stunning on its launched platform, but I can only imagine what they would look like on the console to come after. It’s the same reason I was disappointed that Naughty Dog made The Last of Us Part Two: I want to see what the studio can do when it heads into uncharted territory. Intergalactic will be the first new IP that the studio has delivered in over a decade, and that alone is exciting.
When Will The PlayStation 6 Release?
Although there is no release date for the PlayStation 6, smart money is on Sony’s next console hitting in late 2027 or mid-2028. That would be roughly 7 years after the release of the PlayStation 5, which is on par with the 7-year gap between the PS4 and the PS5. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Intergalactic available on PS6 at launch if the stars align, but it won’t have been developed for the platform.
And the inevitable PS6 version of Intergalactic will surely look even better than the PS5 version. But no matter how you shake it, the timelines don’t work out for an exclusive release. Even with a 2028 release date for Intergalactic, there is no way Sony is alienating the 84 Million+ PS5 owners out there.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Looks Amazing
While it would have been amazing to see what Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet looks like as a PlayStation 6-developed title, I’m still very excited for Naughty Dog’s latest. As I mentioned, it’s the first new IP from the studio since 2013, and with Neil Druckmann at the helm, anticipation is high. I would much rather see what Druckmann can do with Intergalactic than another Last of Us game. And clearly he believes enough in the project that he stepped away from working on The Last of Us HBO series.
When we will next see more of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is yet to be determined. There was a rumor that it would make an appearance at The Game Awards 2025 next month, but those claims are apparently incorrect. It was also claimed that Intergalactic would release in 2026, but that, too, has been refuted by other reports. So, maybe Intergalactic will be a launch title for PlayStation 6 and I’ll get my wish, even if it is technically a split-gen release. Fans will have to wait and see.