The unveiling of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at The Game Awards immediately captured public attention, but this initial enthusiasm quickly gave way to widespread criticism.

The controversy revolved around the game's protagonist and central theme, which some viewers felt promoted a specific "agenda."

Statements from Neil Druckmann and Tati Gabriel, intended to quell the backlash, only served to intensify the debate.

Even seventeen days later, the criticism persists. The announcement trailer proved highly divisive, accumulating 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 outnumbering the 70,000 likes. Comments were ultimately disabled to curb the escalation, but the discussion migrated to other social media platforms.

However, the future of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet remains uncertain. Naughty Dog has a history of transforming initial negative reception into eventual success, suggesting the game could defy expectations.

This incident underscores a major challenge for large game studios: navigating the increasingly demanding expectations of their audience.