The most baffling and frustrating thing was that they saw the negative reception to the concept during the initial reveal… And their response was to sink even more time into it for polish. So sad to see.
The people that made the decision to steer Naughty Dog away from Factions will be able to point to this title before negotiating their next salary raise.
The things people didn’t like (it’s another crappy live service looter shooter) is the core of what they promised the investors. AAA game studios make games for investors, not players.
The games industry becomes much less frustrating and more comprehensible when you keep this fact in mind.