Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann Confirms Second Unannounced Game in Development

Neil Druckmann, the head of Naughty Dog, recently unveiled in an interview with the Press X to Continue podcast that the studio is developing a secret, unannounced second game in addition to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Druckmann collaborates with game directors Matthew Gallant and Kurt Margenau on Intergalactic, co-writing the narrative with Claire Carré. He did not disclose the director for the second project but mentioned his role as a producer, focusing on mentoring and providing feedback to the team working on this mystery game.

Druckmann expressed enthusiasm for his varied roles at Naughty Dog, stating, "I enjoy all those roles, and the fact I jump between one to the next, it makes my job very exciting and always feeling fresh. I’m never bored." While the development stage of each game remains unclear, it's speculated that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet might be further along, given its public announcement.

Speculation abounds about the nature of the second game. It could potentially be The Last of Us 3, though Druckmann's producer role suggests otherwise, as he has previously indicated a desire to be deeply involved in directing any continuation of that series. Another possibility is a new Uncharted game, considering the franchise's last entry was in 2017 with The Lost Legacy. Alternatively, Naughty Dog might be crafting an entirely new intellectual property, similar to Intergalactic.

It's important to note that the second game might never see the light of day or be officially announced by Sony, given Naughty Dog's recent challenges. The studio faced significant changes, including the cancellation of The Last of Us Online in December 2023 to refocus on single-player games amidst Sony's apparent shift away from live service titles. Historically, Naughty Dog has found it challenging to develop two major games simultaneously, often prioritizing one over the other. Since the release of The Last of Us Part II in 2020, the studio has only put out remakes and collections.

As for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, it boasts an impressive cast, including Tati Gabrielle from the Uncharted movie as protagonist Jordan A. Mun and Kumail Nanjiani from Marvel's Eternals as Colin Graves. Although not expected to launch until 2027 at the earliest, Druckmann shared with IGN that the game is already playable and described it as "really good." He teased, "I will say we are playing it at the office and it's incredible. It's really good. I'm so excited to finally put gameplay out into the world and show people about it, because we just showed you the very, very, very tip on the iceberg. The game goes pretty deep beyond that."