You would be forgiven for thinking Naughty Dog have shifted their entire focus to The Last of Us. Two blockbuster titles, two recent remasters and two seasons of the popular HBO show – it feels as though Naughty Dog have narrowed their horizons.
Before the Last of Us they enjoyed success with Uncharted, Jak and Daxter and even Crash Bandicoot, so it makes sense that they’re looking to turn people’s attention to their upcoming title, Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet.
Details have been relatively scarce on the game since being announced last year. Studio head Neil Druckmann has recently opened up about how large of a project it’s shaping up to be.
Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet Details
With The Last of Us: Online being cancelled after much speculation in 2023, the full resources of the studio were able to be directed towards work on Intergalactic. Druckmann spoke to Variety about the game during a conversation about the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us which recently won another Emmy award.
He said: “We’re making it, we’re playing it. We’re firing on all cylinders. I’ve said this before, but I really mean it, I’m really feeling it right now: It’s the most ambitious game we’ve ever made.
“It’s the most expansive game we’ve ever made, maybe the most expensive, by the time we finish it. Troy [Baker] is in the game, and it’s been five years since I’ve worked with Troy, and I’ve got to do it again, and it was a lot of fun to be on the stage with him again.”
Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet Genre
Many audiences are likely keen to figure out whether Intergalactic will follow in the footsteps of Uncharted and The Last of Us as being linear, narrative games, or whether the genre will change to reflect its sci-fi direction.
After all, the game was touted as being inspired by anime like Akira and Cowboy Bebop, and Naughty Dog have previously spoken about wanting to “expand” on gameplay elements found in their previous games, which suggests it might have more of a gameplay focus.
In that same Variety interview, Druckmann states, “as far as when we’re going to show stuff, I’m so antsy to show it and talk about it because the trailer that we showed doesn’t even scratch the surface of what this game actually is.
“You could look at our previous titles and see the evolution of going from “Uncharted,” where we’re really cutting our teeth on realistic character-action game, third-person shooter, combined with emotional storytelling.
“With “The Last of Us,” we added some RPG elements, we started playing with wide linear layouts. Continue that trajectory forward, add sci-fi and you start to get the sense of what we’re doing, and then we’ve gotten even more ambitious than that. So really looking forward to see how it all comes together. I think you’re all going to be pleasantly surprised by it.”
Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet Release Date
The idea of Intergalactic potentially being the most expensive game that Naughty Dog have made to date might not be surprising, when you take into account the rising costs of game development – especially in regards to larger studios.
It will no doubt take a considerable budget if they are to follow The Last of Us, with an equally cinematic and immersive experience.
It also remains firmly in development, so the Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet release date is some may off being revealed.
