Intergalactic: The Heretical Prophet will be the next game from Naughty Dog.

At the recent 2024 Game Awards, Naughty Dog unveiled its new title, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, for PlayStation 5. Development of this game began in 2020 and is set to become the next franchise from the renowned developer behind The Last of Us and Uncharted. Although a release date has yet to be confirmed, expectations are high.

The plot of The Heretic Prophet takes place thousands of years in the future and follows the adventures of Jordan A. Mun, a bounty hunter trapped on the planet Sempira. This world has been cut off from the rest of the universe for centuries, and Jordan will use all her skills to become the first person in over 600 years to escape from there.

The reveal trailer shows Jordan engaging in everyday activities, such as grooming and shaving her head. Tati Gabrielle, who will portray Nora in the upcoming second season of The Last of Us television series, lends her voice to the main character. Additionally, actor Kumail Nanjiani is introduced in the role of Colin Graves, who seems to be a target for bounty hunters. The trailer concludes with Jordan wielding a red lightsaber and facing a massive robot.

Neil Druckmann, the game’s director, has stated that this work will be Naughty Dog’s most creative and daring, filled with emotional moments and character development. The soundtrack will be a collaboration between Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Last February, the trademark Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet was registered in the United States, Europe, and Australia. Currently, Naughty Dog is working on two single-player games, and it is speculated that this title is one of them.

In another vein, Naughty Dog has canceled its multiplayer project The Last of Us Online after a prolonged period of inactivity and multiple reports of development difficulties. Originally conceived as an online mode to accompany The Last of Us Part II, its ambition grew into a standalone title. More than three years later, and after only showing conceptual art, the studio decided to scrap it. While this may disappoint fans hoping for a live-service take on The Last of Us universe, the cancellation is seen as a necessary decision for the studio, allowing it to focus on what it does best: creating single-player gaming experiences.

Naughty Dog’s official statement explains that the intention was to invest the same care and ambition into every aspect of The Last of Us Online as in a single-player title. As the project was evolving into a full online service effort, maintaining that level of quality would have distracted the studio from its roots. Thus, Naughty Dog faced the dilemma of becoming a studio dedicated to a single project or continuing to produce games that have defined the modern image of PlayStation.