Naughty Dog is somewhat infamous for their development cycles and rough working environment. Much like a ton of major studios, they've engaged in crunch culture to make sure their games hit the market at a speed that is doable, but requires some extra effort and more time working. They did that with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and The Last of Us Part 2 as a few infamous examples. Well, apparently, the same can be said for its upcoming action adventure, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Naughty Dog has revealed any sort of release date, but apparently they're ramping up production with forced overtime, according to Bloomberg. The catalyst of this required overtime stems from several missed deadlines. Reportedly, staff were asked to work up to an extra eight hours a week, with an increase in days at the office; ND asked the team to return to the office for five days rather than the normal three.
It's important to note the overtime window seems to be over, as things are potentially caught up. The overtime was mostly due to several missed deadlines related to an internal demo that they had to finish this month, which could mean we might get more info from the horse's -- err... dog's -- mouth in the near-ish future.
Intergalactic was announced just last year with a trailer, but as of right now that's the only bit of visual media we've got from the developer, the rest comes from interviews boasting about what they've got in store and how the trailer just scratches the surface.
It's kind of a departure game for Naughty Dog, as it's their first new IP in well over a decade. In case you were wondering, The Last of Us is their latest IP. Intergalactic puts us in the shoes of Jordan A. Mun, a bounty hunter stranded on the remote planet of Sempiria. The planet is not a kind one, with blade-wielding robots all around, and a distinct inability to escape from the planet. So, it's up to you to find a way to escape and learn the history of the planet while you're at it. Jordan is played by Tati Gabrielle, who has appeared in both the Uncharted movie and The Last of Us TV show.
At this time, there isn't an official release date, but the report does give us a clue that it might be gunning for a mid-2027 release. This bout of mandatory overtime does concern some people that it might get worse as the game gets closer to release, as there isn't really anything from stopping it from reering off-course again.