Naughty Dog's chief, Neil Druckmann, has exciting news for fans: the studio is secretly developing a second game alongside their announced project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In an insightful interview on the Press X to Continue podcast, Druckmann shared details about his multifaceted roles at Sony-owned Naughty Dog. He's currently collaborating with game directors Matthew Gallant and Kurt Margenau on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, co-writing the narrative with Claire Carré. However, he remained tight-lipped about the identity of the director for the mysterious second game.
Druckmann expressed his enthusiasm for his varied responsibilities at Naughty Dog, mentioning his producer role on the unannounced game. "There's another game that's being worked on at Naughty Dog where I am more of a producer role and I get to mentor and watch this other team and give feedback and be like the executive in the room," he explained. He finds the diversity in his roles invigorating, saying, "I enjoy all those roles, and the fact I jump between one to the next, it makes my job very exciting and always feeling fresh. I'm never bored."
While the development stages of both games remain undisclosed, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is expected to be further along given its public announcement. Speculation about the second game is rife, with fans wondering if it could be The Last of Us 3. Druckmann has previously voiced uncertainty about the feasibility of this project but mentioned having a clear ending in mind. Given his comments about taking a more producer-focused role, it seems unlikely that the secret game is The Last of Us 3, as he would likely assume a more hands-on directorial role for such a significant title.
Another possibility is a new installment in the Uncharted series, absent since 2017's The Lost Legacy. Alternatively, Naughty Dog could be crafting an entirely new intellectual property, similar to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. However, there's always a chance that this second game might never see the light of day or be officially revealed by Sony, especially considering the studio's recent challenges. The cancellation of The Last of Us Online in December 2023 underscored Naughty Dog's shift away from live service titles to focus on single-player experiences.
Historically, Naughty Dog has found it challenging to develop two major games simultaneously, often prioritizing one over the other. Since the release of The Last of Us 2 in 2020, the studio has focused on remakes and collections, with no new game hitting the market.
Turning to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, the game boasts a star-studded cast including Tati Gabrielle from the Uncharted movie as protagonist Jordan A. Mun, and Kumail Nanjiani from Marvel's Eternals as Colin Graves. Although the game isn't expected to release until 2027 at the earliest, Druckmann shared with IGN that it's already playable and "really good." He teased, "I will say we are playing it at the office and it's incredible. It's really good. I'm so excited to finally put gameplay out into the world and show people about it, because we just showed you the very, very, very tip on the iceberg. The game goes pretty deep beyond that."
