A new report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier points to Naughty Dog already enforcing mandatory overtime to finish a demo for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, its upcoming project and the first new franchise from the studio in over a decade. The game won't be out for a while - it likely won't be out next year - but the crunching has already started.
Firstly, don't get excited about the demo. It's not for players, or at least that's not what the report claims it is for. According to the employees Schreier spoke to, who remained anonymous as they were not permitted to speak publicly about this, the demo was for a milestone check-in with Sony Interactive Entertainment.
The mandatory overtime reportedly started in late October and has been going on since, working an extra eight hours a week, though they were asked not to work more than 60 hours per week. On top of having to put more time in, employees were also reportedly called back into the office for this period for a full five days a week instead of three.
As Schreier previously reported, the game is still set to arrive sometime mid-2027, but if the studio is already crunching on milestones like this, employees are concerned about what that says for the rest of the game's development as they inch closer to the launch of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
We know that crunch culture has been an issue for Naughty Dog in the past, and that crunch culture has been a problem across triple-A development for several studios. But, as Schreier points out, the backlash from players towards studios and their leadership that makes these decisions (which, for Naughty Dog, is Neil Druckmann) has led to studios changing. Or, at least it led to them saying they would change.
As for how the studio will move forward right now, the report adds that the overtime mandate ended for the majority of the studio this week, with its previous schedule returning for January. A new schedule for what comes after January 2026 will be released when the studio returns from its holiday break.
There's always a polishing stage towards the end of a game's development. That's normal, and it's possible to go through that polishing stage without overworking the team. For Naughty Dog to reportedly already start putting its developers through periods of mandated overtime this far out from release does not inspire confidence that Druckmann and the studio's leadership will refrain from doing so again, and perhaps for a longer period of time.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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