Intergalactic: Naughty Dog Veteran Warns of Another Last of Us 2 Scenario
Six years. That’s how long Naughty Dog has been quietly crafting Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, its first new IP since The Last of Us. But now, a former studio insider is breaking the silence with a warning that’s making waves.
Benson Russell knows Naughty Dog inside out. The former Uncharted and The Last of Us designer spent years refining combat mechanics and pushing gameplay boundaries. Now a consultant, he’s watching Intergalactic from the outside—and he’s seeing a familiar pattern: a studio whose wild ambition might just smother its own vision. That’s especially worrying as other AAA projects are racing ahead.
Image credit: Naughty Dog
Six years in development: is Naughty Dog stuck in a rut?
Benson Russell doesn’t mince words. Naughty Dog, one of PlayStation’s crown jewels, still hasn’t released a new IP on PS5. Since the console’s 2020 launch, all we’ve seen is The Last of Us Part II Remastered in 2024—an impressive upgrade, sure, but still just a PS4 game with a fresh coat of paint. For Russell, the contradiction is glaring: “They’re one of the main reasons people buy PlayStations, right? But if you think about it, they haven’t put out a single original IP on this platform. The only thing they’ve done is remake The Last of Us,” he says bluntly.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet entered production in 2020, right after The Last of Us Part II shipped. Six years later, there’s still no official release date. If the project drags on, it could end up launching at the tail end of the PS5’s life—or even on the cusp of the PS6. That timing could seriously hurt its commercial and cultural impact.
The “Last of Us 2 situation”: when ambition chokes out vision
Russell’s choice of words is as sharp as it is provocative. By “The Last of Us 2 situation,” the ex-designer means Naughty Dog’s habit of cramming a tight story into overloaded gameplay—to the point where the experience gets diluted. In his view, Intergalactic “might need some trimming in that department.” The risk? That all those mechanics end up suffocating the narrative instead of serving it.
This concern is even more pointed given that Intergalactic introduces a brand-new melee combat system for the studio. Naughty Dog has always leaned on strategic shootouts and cover-based action. Russell remembers the headaches from the Uncharted days just trying to add brawling: “We wanted fistfights and all that, but it was a massive investment.” Going from occasional scraps to a full-blown melee system is a whole different beast—especially for a team that’s never really proven itself in that arena.
A risky bet: space is uncharted territory for Naughty Dog
Gameplay aside, it’s the world of Intergalactic itself that’s raising eyebrows. Naughty Dog made its name with painstakingly recreated earthbound settings—the post-apocalyptic ruins of The Last of Us, the lush jungles and lost cities of Uncharted. With Sempiria, a planet cut off from the galaxy for centuries, the studio is venturing way out of its comfort zone. Building a believable alien world takes a whole different skillset than making familiar landscapes shine.
Still, Neil Druckmann has laid down some bold narrative foundations. The creative director revealed the story will dive into a fictional religion and questions of faith—territory rarely explored this deeply in games. With inspirations drawn from anime classics like Akira and Cowboy Bebop, the game is shaping up as mature sci-fi, blending visceral action with existential themes. The reveal trailer, shown at the 2024 Game Awards, offers a first glimpse of this unique artistic direction:
Tati Gabrielle stars as Jordan A. Mun, a stranded bounty hunter on Sempiria, while the soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross sets a mood that’s both oppressive and hypnotic. The potential is off the charts—but Russell’s question still hangs in the air: can the studio really master so many new elements at once?
A sick industry: when seven-year dev cycles become the norm
Russell’s warning goes way beyond Naughty Dog. Never-ending dev cycles have become a chronic illness in AAA gaming. Just look at the evidence:
- GTA VI, expected this November after more than a decade in the oven
- Fable, announced in 2020 and now pushed to 2027
- The Max Payne 1 & 2 remake, in the works for over four years with no end in sight
But the former designer insists these timelines aren’t inevitable. “I honestly think these seven-year projects could be cut to five. You could shave off at least two years, maybe more, just by locking down your vision—setting that North Star from the start. And it’s not that hard to do,” he argues. His point is simple: the longer development drags on, the more you risk team turnover and tech shifts. Not to mention the creative frustration that leads to endless rewrites—factors that, ironically, only make things take even longer.
Will Naughty Dog take these warnings to heart? Some fans think they spotted a clue in the trailer hinting at a March 1, 2027 release—a date that would put Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at nearly seven years in development. With the towering legacy of The Last of Us, a brand-new universe to tame, and combat mechanics to reinvent, Neil Druckmann’s studio is playing for high stakes. The gap between masterpiece and missed opportunity has never looked so razor-thin.
