PlayStation Studios developer Naughty Dog has reportedly been enforcing mandatory overtime for its employees, as it attempts to get its next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, “back on track”.
This is according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who writes that the project has missed “several” deadlines up until this point. And with Sony set to review the studio’s progress in the near future, it’s had to crunch in order to prepare a demo, which was apparently finalised this week.
The article states that the developer’s usual working hours should be back to some kind of normalcy after the holidays, with this period of overtime taking place between late October and now. This is all based on anonymous sources from within the company.
Of course, this is bound to raise questions regarding the current state of Intergalactic. The PS5 exclusive, which is reportedly targeting a mid-2027 release, was first announced at The Game Awards 2024, and we’ve seen next to nothing of it since.
Apparently, some employees are concerned that crunch could return with a vengeance later in the development cycle. Of course, this topic of overtime is nothing new for Naughty Dog, as the studio was previously criticised for the crunch that it enforced during the development of The Last of Us Part 2.
What do you make of this? Do you have any thoughts on Intergalactic right now? Do you think that mid-2027 release schedule will stick? Fire up your laser sword in the comments section below.
[source bloomberg.com]
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Robert (or Rob if you’re lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he’s played ’em all. A little too much, some might say.