A report suggests that Naughty Dog has recently instructed employees to work "mandatory" overtime

According to a recent report, Naughty Dog has been requiring its employees to work "mandatory" overtime to complete the demo for "Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet."

Bloomberg highlights that the staff were compelled to extend their working hours by at least eight per week, totaling a maximum of 60 hours each week. This period of enforced overtime lasted for seven weeks and concluded recently.

In addition, employees were required to increase their number of in-office workdays from three to five per week, affecting their regular childcare and pet care routines. Management has indicated plans to revert to the three-day schedule in January.

The overtime initiative, beginning in late October, was aimed at addressing production delays, as shared by individuals who wished to remain anonymous due to restrictions on discussing internal matters publicly, Bloomberg reported.

Neither Sony nor Naughty Dog provided a response to these allegations.

The issue of crunch time at Naughty Dog has been a contentious topic, especially with ongoing discussions about mandatory overtime within the industry. An example occurred in 2021 when then co-president Evan Wells openly discussed his intense work history, suggesting it had contributed to his career advancement.