Last year at the Game Awards, Naughty Dog announced its next project. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet The space sci-fi game looks radically different from the studio's previous titles, but remains exciting for fans. A recent report by Colin Moriarty, suggesting a 2026 release, caused a stir. Now, the first doubts are emerging, and the sources are not to be underestimated.
No presence at The Game Awards 2025
Following Moriarty's comment, several insiders quickly weighed in. Jason Schreier, for example, wrote: on Redditthat a publication in 2026 “not the case“That was already clear a long time ago.” Marvel's Wolverine Sonys biggest release next year will be.
Jeff grubb confirmed Furthermore, X indicated that the title would not only not be released in 2026, but would also be absent from The Game Awards 2025 in December. Even Moriarty admitted that his words had been misunderstood and reflected more of his personal opinion.
For players, this means there will be no update at this year's awards ceremony. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet existsAnyone hoping for new gameplay videos or trailers will be disappointed. This is especially unfortunate, as the setting, characters, and new visual direction had piqued interest.
Why we can still remain optimistic
Neil Druckmann, who is leading the game, and Sony have not yet commented on a new release window. While Naughty Dog has met deadlines in the past, they have never compromised on quality. Therefore, the advice here is: better to wait longer and receive a polished game than to get excited about a premature release.
Even though the release date is uncertain, attention remains high. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet This shows that Naughty Dog wants to experiment, venturing off the beaten path. Players' patience will be tested a little longer, but the potential is there.
Anyone who hoped to go into space in 2026 with Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Those looking to launch will have to wait a little longer. No Game Awards appearance, no concrete release date, but a team that delivers quality. For those with patience: a title to keep an eye on.
You're free to hate on Druckmann, but let's be honest, you don't really believe that the creators of Uncharted and The Last of Us, with enough time and resources for a new game, are going to deliver a blockbuster. And thankfully, the anti-woke Grifter community is dead now; how ridiculous was that whole Yotei thing with the manufactured hate/boycott?
Oh, believe me, this is a different story. This time it's not just the woke aspect, but also how the character looks and how she presents herself. Honestly, what benefit did Yotai offer from being able to play as a woman? I didn't see any for myself; on the contrary, it made the whole thing more ridiculous because it was so contrived and obvious. And Druckmann, as always, is piling on the hype. They can do what they want, but they shouldn't complain later when they don't make enough money and the studio has to close. But I'm sure they'll find a way to justify it.
Naughty Dog's track record is brutal.
You didn't play Yotai; you said yourself that Assassin's Creed Shadows in the Japan setting was enough for you.
I played through Yotai on lethal difficulty and got the platinum trophy; nothing about it was ridiculous.
The story, direction, and acting were brutally good, although beforehand I thought they were somehow adapting Blue Eye Samurai into a game.
Thank God, then the show will be great!
Nobody wants that anymore… at least not as long as Druckmann is in charge.
Why announce a game years before its release? I don't think much of that at all. One year before release is more than enough time.
Because they barely have any games and are stalling people with announcements like these. There are plenty of people who still try to rationalize it and argue, using titles like these, that something really big is still to come… the PS5 generation hasn't even really started in terms of games, and it'll soon be over, but with games like these, Sony is showing that something will eventually come, and for some people, that's enough to be happy again…
If the games were at least guaranteed to be released, that would be understandable (though still annoying), but if the games are then canceled, it's disappointing. Turtles: The Last Ronin, for example, is/was my most anticipated game, even before GTA 6, because I love the comics, and now it's hanging in the balance, even though it was announced two years ago.
As Hans says, Sony and Naughty Dog are doing this by design to distract from their Gaas failures. It'll be a cross-gen game, you can bet on it. They don't have anything else for PC, they've already ported almost every exclusive game they possibly can, so they have nothing to announce on that front either. The Gaas strategy has hit them so hard that they probably won't even be able to release PC ports or PS5 remasters.