Last year, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog released a documentary on the making of the game’s 2020 sequel that attempted to discuss the studio’s reported problems with overwork and crunch. The video ended on a note indicating that things had improved, but it sounds like the team is facing a similar struggle with its upcoming PS5 game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Bloomberg reports that Naughty Dog has had developers working mandatory overtime as it races to complete a demo of the sci-fi action game for Sony to review, despite a planned release date that’s still years away.
The mandatory overtime reportedly began in October, with staff being asked to work a minimum of eight extra hours a week and logging them on an internal spreadsheet. This was in an effort to get the game’s production back on track after several missed deadlines, though developers were also told not to work more than 60 hours a week.
During this period, a new mandatory return-to-office order was also pushed through, requiring everyone to be onsite at the Santa Monica studio five days a week, rather than the typical three. According to Bloomberg’s sources, employees had to find “alternative care arrangements” for children and pets.
This follows older reports that Naughty Dog had hired a new team of producers specifically meant to help alleviate the team’s crunch problems. But according to Bloomberg, several of them have already left the company. While select members of the team reportedly worked overtime to finish Intergalactic’s debut trailer back in 2024, this new overtime requirement has applied to “most” of the staff.
Management reportedly told workers the company will return to its usual three-day in-office requirement in January, with a more detailed breakdown coming after the team returns from holiday break. The Bloomberg story signs off with an ironic anecdote, saying the team was given metal coins to commemorate the game’s ongoing development, which included text of a quote from the game, “The suffering of generations must be endured to achieve our divine end.”
Reports of Naughty Dog crunching date back years, with The Last of Us Part II’s development being one of the most notorious. Back in 2023, Naughty Dog cut dozens of contractors roughly a year before Intergalactic was announced at the 2024 Game Awards.