Naughty Dog studio head Neil Druckmann gives a nod to the OG Last of Us announcement with his reveal of sci-fi adventure Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

Protagonist Jordan in a screenshot from the reveal trailer for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

Naughty Dog's next project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, definitely isn't a new Last of Us game, but director Neil Druckmann might be trying to channel the success of the iconic post-apocalyptic fungal adventure with his announcement of the studio's upcoming project.

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet was officially unveiled during The Game Awards last night, and as its name suggests, it's oozing with sci-fi vibes. Players will step into the shoes of Jordan A. Mun – a bounty hunter who gets herself stranded on a distant planet called Sempiria. There are big robot enemies, apparently red, glowing swords are in fashion, and it all looks very cool. Naughty Dog's next project has been teased for so long now, so it's fascinating to see what's been stirring behind the scenes, even if I'm sure many were hoping it was going to be The Last of Us Part 3. It seems like Druckmann is making sure not to forget the series, at least, as he's made a nod to its original announcement with his reveal of this game.

"Intergalactic is Naughty Dog's fifth franchise and the game we've been working on for the last four years!" Druckmann writes on Twitter following the announcement, quote tweeting an old post of his from 2011, which reads: "The Last of Us is Naughty Dog's fourth franchise and the game I've been working on for the last two years."

13 years, a launch, remaster, remake, and a PC release later (not to mention a remaster for its sequel, too), it's fair to say that The Last of Us has been bathing in the spotlight for some time now, so it's nice to see something fresh emerge from the studio. In a blog post, Druckmann says that Intergalactic "is shaping up to be our wildest, most creative story yet," and it "lives up to the Naughty Dog tradition of creating an emotional, character-driven epic journey."

There's no launch date for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet just yet, but its reveal trailer has slated it as a PS5 release, so we can expect it to hit Sony's current-gen console at some point in the future.

You can look at all of the big reveals from last night in our roundup of everything announced at The Game Awards 2024. 

Catherine Lewis
News Writer

I'm one of 12DOVE's news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.