Naughty Dog’s Next Game, Intergalactic, Could Slip Out of 2027

Naughty Dog's Intergalactic: Crunch Returns Already – Will the 2027 Release Slip Amid Overtime Drama?

The industry has been working hard to prevent the much-frowned-upon phase of “crunch,” as more and more studios address concerns about employee burnout. However, one of Sony’s prestigious studios, Naughty Dog, appears to have asked employees to begin working long hours once again - a studio known in the past for pushing employees hard with crunch later in a title’s development cycle.

This news comes from Jason Schreier of Bloomberg, who was informed by sources that asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the studio’s status.

The award-winning team behind Uncharted and The Last Of Us has been pushed to work long hours in preparation for a demo of their upcoming space adventure, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, for their parent company to review. Back in late October, staff were asked to begin working a minimum of eight extra hours per week to help prepare the demo and get the game back on schedule. Although employees were instructed to work no more than 60 hours per week, they were also asked to return to the office five days a week, instead of the current three-day arrangement. This forced employees to scramble to find child and pet care arrangements.

The term “crunch” is unfortunately common in game development and is not unknown to Naughty Dog’s culture, with some employees completely burnt out from the creation of The Last Of Us: Part II. Naughty Dog created a team to address these concerns and tried to do better for their employees. It appears many of those employees have since left the studio.

There is some good news, though. The demo is complete, and employees can return to a three-day work week in the office. However, there is growing concern that “crunch” will rear its ugly head again as the game is set for a mid-2027 release date, according to those familiar with the project. If Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet does release in 2027, that will mark around seven years of development - a somewhat standard duration for AAA development these days.