Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet is currently targeting a mid-2027 release window, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The report states that Naughty Dog has mandated overtime across much of the studio this year as part of an effort to complete an internal demo and bring the project back on schedule after multiple missed deadlines.
Sources familiar with the situation told Bloomberg that the Santa Monica-based studio has been pushing staff to work extended hours for the past seven weeks. Beginning in late October, employees were asked to work a minimum of eight additional hours per week and log that time internally. The overtime push was reportedly tied to preparations for an upcoming internal review of the game’s demo.
The report notes that while some teams previously worked long hours to finish the game’s debut trailer, which released last December, this marks the first time in recent years that overtime has been mandated across the majority of the studio. The current production schedule reportedly places the game’s release in mid-2027, a timeline that has raised concerns among some employees about whether additional overtime periods could follow later in development.
According to Bloomberg, the most recent stretch of mandated overtime concluded this week as Naughty Dog finalized the internal demo. Management has since informed employees that the studio will return to its standard requirement of three in-office workdays per week through the end of January. A more detailed production and scheduling plan for 2026 is expected to be shared after the holiday break.
Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet represents a major new direction for Naughty Dog. The title is a completely original science fiction IP and marks the studio’s first new franchise since the release of The Last of Us in 2013. Set 2,000 years in the future, the game takes place in a retro-futuristic timeline where advanced space travel began in the 1980s, shaping a very different version of humanity’s future.
Revealed publicly at The Game Awards 2024, Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet is currently planned as a PlayStation 5 title. While the release window remains subject to change, the mid-2027 target suggests Naughty Dog is still in the midst of a demanding production cycle, even as it works to stabilize development and meet its internal milestones.
