Intergalactic is on fire. After two weeks, criticism of Naughty Dog's trailer has not subsided

The unveiling of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at The Game Awards generated immediate buzz, quickly followed by a storm of controversy.

The core of the backlash focused on the game's protagonist and themes, with accusations of a hidden "agenda" from a segment of the gaming community.

Statements from Neil Druckmann and Tati Gabriel, intended to quell the rising tide of criticism, only served to inflame the situation.

Even seventeen days later, the negative reaction persists. The announcement trailer proved highly divisive, garnering a significant number of dislikes on YouTube. On the official PlayStation channel, dislikes surpassed 260,000, dwarfing the 90,000 likes. The Naughty Dog channel fared no better, with over 170,000 dislikes outweighing the 70,000 likes. Comment sections were subsequently disabled, yet the debate continues to rage across social media platforms.

Despite this rocky start, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet's future remains uncertain, but not necessarily doomed. Naughty Dog's history demonstrates a capacity to transform initial negativity into triumph. The game still possesses the potential to defy expectations.

However, this incident underscores a major challenge for large game studios: navigating the increasingly complex and demanding expectations of their audience.