Naughty Dog’s reveal of its new sci-fi action-adventure game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet could mean fans of The Last of Us will be in for a very long wait when it comes to new content for the franchise. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet was one of the biggest surprises at The Game Awards 2024, and its announcement has been met with a mixed reception.
While there are many who are confident in Naughty Dog’s track record of releasing high-quality games, there are some who don’t like Intergalactic’s product placement and others who seem to be upset about the appearance of the main character. Naysayers have voiced their disapproval by flooding Intergalactic’s trailer with dislikes and leaving enough negative comments to finally prompt Sony to shut them off.
One group of people that may not be happy about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is Last of Us fans, as the game’s announcement could cause a domino effect that impacts the franchise. It’s assumed that Intergalactic’s release date is either in 2026 or even 2027, which means that full-scale development on the next Last of Us game won’t be happening until then – if it’s even Naughty Dog’s next project. In turn, this may mean that The Last of Us 3 won’t come out until the 2030s.
Intergalactic Could Cause an Unfortunate Domino Effect for The Last of Us Franchise
If that’s the case, it could also have a big impact on The Last of Us TV series as well. The Last of Us Season 2 will premiere in spring 2025, and while it’s expected that the second game will offer multiple seasons worth of material, eventually, the show is inevitably going to catch up to the games. Considering the success of the Last of Us TV series, one has to imagine that HBO will be interested in adapting the probable third game as well, though it may not come for years after the third game is out.
Of course, it’s always possible that more work is being done on The Last of Us 3 than we know, and the game could come sooner than expected. After all, Naughty Dog already has The Last of Us 3 outline written, and it has for years. Plus, there’s always the chance that Intergalactic will come out in 2025 after all, though fans shouldn’t hold their breath.
Looking at Naughty Dog’s history of games, it has taken increasingly longer for the studio to release new titles. There were three years between The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, and four years between Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Part 2. It’s going to be an absolute minimum of five years between The Last of Us Part 2 and Intergalactic, but realistically, more like six or seven. If that pattern holds up, The Last of Us Part 3 might not come until 2034. Time will tell, but it will definitely be interesting to see what happens.
