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Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann Reveals New Details About Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
- NFD NEWS
- Mar 13
- 3 min read
Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann has opened up about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, giving fans some new details about the studio’s new sci-fi adventure.
It’s been nearly four years since Naughty Dog started working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, the studio’s first new original game since The Last of Us in 2013. The project was officially announced during The Game Awards 2024 ceremony, and details have been pretty scarce.
Neil Druckmann, Naughty Dog’s co-president, and game director, just shared some new details about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet during Sony’s Creator to Creator video series.
This isn’t just another action-packed adventure from the studio. This time, the studio is stepping into sci-fi, exploring big ideas about religion, history, and what happens when an entire world goes silent.
New Details on Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Druckmann pulled back the curtain on what players can expect from Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. He explained that the team has spent years creating the game’s setting, a timeline that “deviated” from our own in the late 1980s, leading to a completely different version of history.
A key part of this world-building effort was the creation of a new religion, something the developers spent “years building, from the original Prophet” to how it evolved over 2,000 years.
This faith is deeply tied to Sempiria, the planet where the main story takes place. “At one point, all communication from this planet stopped,” Druckmann revealed, adding that for 600 years, no one has heard anything from Sempiria. That mystery becomes the core of the story, as players take on the role of Jordan A. Mun, a bounty hunter.
“I really wanted to make a game about faith and religion, but also about just being lonely,” Druckmann said. “So many of the previous games we’ve done, there’s always like an ally with you, [This time] I really want you to be lost in a place that you’re really confused about what happened here, who are the people here, what was their history.”
During the conversation, Druckmann also touched on his past work, especially The Last of Us series, and how it shaped his approach to storytelling in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. He acknowledged that The Last of Us Part 2 received strong reactions from players, both positive and negative, and joked about the team’s mindset going into this new project.
“We made certain creative decisions that got us a lot of hate,” he said, before laughing and adding, “Lots of people love it, but a lot of people hate that game. So, you know what? Let’s do something people won’t care as much about, let’s make a game about faith and religion.”
Interestingly, filmmaker Alex Garland, who was part of the interview, chimed in with praise for The Last of Us, calling it “better than 28 Days Later.”
Here’s a recap of all the details Druckmann revealed about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet:
The game takes place 2,000 years in the future, but the timeline diverges from our reality in the late 1980s.
A new religion was created in this alternate history and plays a major role in the game’s world.
The planet Sempiria, once influenced by this faith, has been silent for 600 years.
Jordan A. Mun, a bounty hunter, crash-lands on Sempiria while chasing a target and must uncover what happened.
The game will focus on loneliness and discovery, making players feel lost and isolated in an unfamiliar world.
A massive world-building effort was made to create the religion’s origins and how it changed over time.
Neil Druckmann acknowledged The Last of Us Part 2’s divisive reception and joked about making a game about faith and religion instead.
The game is being developed exclusively for PlayStation 5.
No confirmed release date, but since development started in 2020, a 2025 launch is possible but not guaranteed.
What do you think about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet? Are you excited to see Naughty Dog take on something so different? Let us know your thoughts!