Baldur's Gate 3 publisher warns of industry "division" as Naughty Dog's new game trailer faces backlash

A hot potato: Making a game these days is a stressful job. Not only can a flop ruin millions of dollars of investment and years of work, but there are also instances where the studios responsible have closed as a result. Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director Michael Douse says that 2025 and beyond is going to be an extremely tough time to ship a game, as division seems to be the ongoing trend. One just has to look at the reaction to the trailer for Naughty Dog's upcoming game as an example of what Douse is talking about.

Douse wrote about the state of the video game industry in a post on X. "2025 (and beyond) is going to be an extremely tough time to ship a game, with division spilling into everything. I have one practical piece of advice that may to some seem controversial, but it's crucial: anticipate, don't ignore, or ridicule, or stoke. Figure it out," the BG3 publishing director wrote.

"Navigate the waters even if you think they're unfair, or that the sea shouldn't be so rough. The reality is that it is."

2025 (and beyond) is going to be an extremely tough time to ship a game, with division spilling into everything. I have one practical piece of advice that may to some seem controversial, but it's crucial: anticipate, don't ignore, or ridicule, or stoke. Figure it out. Navigate…

Replying to a comment asking if the "culture war" controversy surrounding so many new games will eventually blow over, Douse says no, noting that increasing obsession with individualism has led to everyone believing they are right. It's also led to the perception of "otherness."

No I think the increasing obsession individualism has created a world where everyone is defending their corner, believing they are right. It has increased the perception of "otherness" and everyone basically wants to find an eco-chamber to feel safe in, which I can understand…

The just-released trailer for the upcoming Naughty Dog game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is a good illustration of what Douse is talking about.

Revealed at the Game Awards, the trailer features lead character Jordan A. Mun, who sports what has proven to be a very controversial shaved head. She's played by Tati Gabrielle, who appeared in the Netflix series You, Uncharted, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and more.

The trailer has 60,000 likes on Naughty Dog's YouTube channel, around half the 144,000 dislikes it has received. The comments have been turned off, but they remain enabled on the PlayStation channel (86K likes, 202K dislikes), where there are numerous comparisons to Concord.

Sony killed off Concord just two weeks after release due to low player numbers, and while the game did nothing to stand out from a crowded market, what many referred to as "woke" character designs certainly didn't help its cause.

I wish Naughty Dog had just let players pick the hairdo for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet's protagonist because Tati Gabrielle with a fro looks way cooler than this shit, at least imo. pic.twitter.com/PVeUbsyDKS

The fact Mun has a shaven head also appears to be a big issue for many commenters. And it's likely that even after all these years, a lot of people still haven't forgiven Naughty Dog for some of the plot elements in The Last of Us 2.