According to recent reports, Naughty Dog's upcoming new IP, Intergalactic: Heretic ProphetPlayStation Studios seems to be following a similar trend that has been criticized in the past, even though the game isn't scheduled to be released until 2027. The term “crunch” is often used to describe working conditions in the gaming industry where developers and other studio members are forced to work long hours of overtime to ensure that a game is ready to launch by a certain date.
is one of the more anticipated titles Intergalactic: Heretic Prophet, A brand new IP from the creators of the Uncharted and Last of Us series. So far, fans have only had a glimpse of the game through its reveal trailer, and unfortunately, Intergalactic: Heretic Prophet did not attend the 2025 Game Awards to give fans a new look. While fans continue to wait for news, the latest report paints things in a not so great light.
Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic gets an exciting update
Naughty Dog's next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, receives a promising update that many fans are extremely excited about.
Naughty Dog worked overtime for Intergalactic: Heretic Prophet
NEW: For the past seven weeks, Naughty Dog has enforced mandatory overtime for employees to finish an internal demo of their next game, Intergalactic. The game won't be out until 2027, leaving some employees wondering: If they're crunching now, what about next year? www.bloomberg.com/news/article… — Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-12-18T19:21:36.348Z
According to gaming industry reporter Jason Schrier, Naughty Dog has ordered mandatory overtime at the studio so that developers and employees can complete work on internal demos. In fact, Studio Crunch has been in effect for about 7 weeks at this point, an alarming amount of time for a game still early in development. Shrier revealed Intergalactic Already many deadlines were missed, so in an effort to increase production, employees were asked to work an additional eight hours or more per week and log the time on an internal spreadsheet.
While both Sony and Naughty Dog declined to comment for the post, sources indicated that employees will not have to work more than 60 hours a week, although they will have to stay in the office for a full 5 working days instead of the usual 3. The added work is largely due to Sony's upcoming review and internal demos being finalized, with mandatory overtime for most employees. Still, Schreier points out that this is the first time in a while that mandatory overtime has been issued at the company.
What this news does is surprising Intergalactic: Heretic Prophet A game that many don't expect to launch until 2027 at the earliest. In most cases, studios that must crunch are usually at the end of a project's development cycle, specifically in time to hit a specific launch date. considering Intergalactic: Heretic Prophet There's no specific release date and there's still a long way to go, and there are concerns that if it's happening now, could things get worse next year?
Unfortunately, Naughty Dog has an established track record of employee crunches, with reports of burnout and attrition affecting employees. The Last of Us: Part 2 started In an effort to alleviate development problems and reduce the need for Crunch, Naughty Dog hired several producers to fix the problem, although according to sources within the studio, many of those people have since left the company.
As fans can attest, Schreier is one of the biggest names in the industry who is usually very plugged in, usually providing insight into things going on behind the scenes. Of course, not everyone who works in the industry wants details to be made public or leaked and sometimes, these reports can cause a bit of friction.
There was a big reveal during the 2025 Game Awards Star Wars: The Fate of the Old Republic Led by Casey Hudson's Arcanut Studio. While many believed the game was still years away, Schreier reported The fate of the old republic Probably won't be released until 2030 or later. Trying to move on from the disappointment, Hudson responded to the comments and eventually hinted that the game would already be out because he's “not getting any younger.”
