Naughty Dog has two new projects set in the world of The Last of Us in very early stages, according to a studio update Neil Druckmann published to close out this year’s The Last of Us Day on September 26. Both projects will expand the canon beyond The Last of Us Part I and The Last of Us Part II, though Druckmann said the studio can’t say much more about them at this point. The possibility of more stories in that world has been an open topic since Grounded II, the documentary on the making of The Last of Us Part II, and Druckmann wrote that the team wouldn’t return to it unless it had something meaningful to say.
The other question Druckmann addressed is Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which debuted at The Game Awards 2024 and hasn’t been shown since. Naughty Dog is going quiet for the rest of 2026, with the full reveal of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet now planned for 2027, when the studio says it will give a proper look at Jordan A. Mun’s sci-fi adventure. Druckmann described the game as shaping up to be Naughty Dog’s most ambitious yet, but wrote that the team needs “to cook for just a little bit longer.” It’s the project he stepped away from HBO’s The Last of Us to focus on, and when the studio confirmed the cinematic shoot had wrapped last month, I said my money was on the game resurfacing at The Game Awards 2026, which is clearly off the table now.
As for The Last of Us Day itself, the studio’s charity stream raised $11,000 and counting for AbleGamers. The Last of Us Part I still sits at number two on my list of the best games I’ve ever played, though I wrote back in 2023 that The Last of Us Part III shouldn’t exist just because the show’s popular, and Druckmann’s post never refers to either project as Part III. The full update is on Naughty Dog’s blog.
