After months of silence, Naughty Dog finally confirmed that The Last of Us franchise isn’t yet over. The studio currently has two games in development. Both projects are still in the early stages; thus, the developer didn’t state their original titles or release dates. The announcement came on The Last of Us Day, when Naughty Dog hosted a charity stream, did giveaways, and released The Last of Us-themed welcome hub backgrounds and avatars for PS5.
At the end of the celebration, studio head Neil Druckmann mentioned, “We have a couple of very exciting new projects in very early stages – so we can't say much about them at this point. I will tell you that both projects will expand the canon of The Last of Us beyond Part I and Part II.” He further continued, “The world of The Last of Us means a great deal to us, and we wouldn't return to it unless we had something meaningful to say. We believe these stories are worth telling.”
Apart from The Last of Us, the studio confirmed the release timeline for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. This game was initially showcased in 2024, but there was no update for two years. Now, Naughty Dog confirmed that the title will arrive in 2027 and will follow Jordan Mun, a bounty hunter who becomes stranded on a dangerous planet. However, the exact release date is not announced yet.
While talking about the full reveal of the game, the studio head said, “The team is heads down on what is shaping up to be Naughty Dog's most ambitious game yet. There's an electricity around the studio right now as all the pieces come together, and we're stoked to finally unveil Intergalactic in all its glory.” He added, “So we want to set expectations: we're going to be quiet for the rest of this year. In 2027, that changes. We'll fully reveal Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and give you a proper look at Jordan's wild sci-fi adventure.”
Naughty Dog is now working on several major projects at different stages. Intergalactic is the studio's next big game, while the two new The Last of Us projects are much further away.
The new games will expand The Last of Us universe, but Naughty Dog never called any of them a Part III. Additionally, the studio never mentioned that players will see the familiar characters from the franchise, Ellie or Abby, in the upcoming installments.
Keeping the details private also gives Naughty Dog time to decide where the series should go next without setting early expectations around a specific story. For now, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet remains the studio's main upcoming release. The two new The Last of Us games show what could come after it.