Naughty Dog's Next Era—Intergalactic's Delay and a Second AAA Project

A lot of new insider stories about Naughty Dog's upcoming projects have made people excited, giving us new information about two big projects that are still being worked on. Sources say that Sony plans to highlight games like Marvel's Wolverine and Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra on its 2026 PlayStation 5 slate.

However, Naughty Dog's next big release, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, will not come out until 2027. This information fits with claims that Sony is carefully spreading out its biggest projects over the next few years so that each "tentpole" has a chance to stand out.

Intergalactic rumors got stronger after online conversations suggested that the game might have all of its material finished and be ready to go in 2026. These reports gained support when comments on industry podcasts seemed to imply that there was growing support within the company for a release earlier than planned. However, the sources say that the conversation started out as a rumor and not a leak, and it was later explained to avoid confusion.

Even with all the talk, the main point stayed the same: some job posts have hinted at late-stage development, which has made people think the project might be getting closer to completion.

But those hopes were quickly dashed. Industry expert Jason Schreier stepped in to say that Intergalactic won't be coming in 2026, which backs up earlier predictions of a launch window in 2027, according to the sources. At the same time, industry source Jeff Grubb said that the game probably won't be shown at the upcoming Game Awards either.

This took away one of the most likely places for a big reveal. This double proof moves Intergalactic even further into the future and seems to show that Sony wants to spread out its big movies rather than putting them all in one year.

Now that Intergalactic is on hold for now, all eyes are on Naughty Dog's mysterious second AAA game, a single-player project that hasn't been released but has been in development for more than three years. According to the sources, Neil Druckmann is not directing but producing. This is a big change from the big movies he oversaw, like The Last of Us Part II. The project is thought to be handled by Shaun Escayg, who is known for his work on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

This means that fans of Naughty Dog's cinematic action-adventure style may recognize some of the game's features. People in the industry have talked about the game as "big" and definitely in the AAA category, not as a smaller experimental release.

Because of how mysterious this second project is, some people think it might show up at the Game Awards without being expected. Even though people shouldn't get their hopes up too quickly, it's still possible. Reports stress that Naughty Dog's absence from Intergalactic does not necessarily mean that they will not be involved with the show, especially since the studio has been at big industry events for a long time.

Sony is expected to make at least one big announcement at the opening. Now the question is whether this long-hidden AAA game will finally get its due attention or be kept secret until a later show. All of these reports show that the studio is working on two big projects at the same time, while also following Sony's overall plan for the PS5.

By putting off releases until 2026 and 2027, Sony seems to be planning a series of big first-party releases over several years instead of releasing all of its biggest games at once. For Naughty Dog, this means that one game is getting close to being finished behind closed doors while another, just as big a project, continues its long development path.

People are paying close attention to every official statement and insider whisper about Intergalactic and the second AAA project because they are still so secret. As Sony gets ready for its next set of announcements, people are still wondering: what world will Naughty Dog take us to next, and when will they do it?