Saints Row’s reboot is dividing fans as Volition says it ‘won’t back down’

The debut trailer for the reboot of Saints Row has divided players on YouTube, while developer Volition has made it clear it’s not bowing to pressure.

The three most-watched versions of the trailer – on the official PlayStation YouTube channel, the official Xbox channel and the official Saints Row channel – have an unusually high numbers of dislikes – more than even likes, which isn’t common for YouTube engagement.

Combined, the three videos have been viewed nearly a million times at the time of writing, and have received around 70,000 user interactions (likes or dislikes).

Of these, 31,400 have been likes, and 38,400 have been dislikes, suggesting the response has been slightly more negative than positive.

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One interesting finding is that the trailer on the official Saints Row account has received a significantly lower ratio of likes to dislikes than the others.

The trailer on the PlayStation and Xbox channels are currently 50% and 54% positive respectively, while the one on the Saints Row channel is only 39% positive, suggesting the Saints Row fanbase is less encouraged by the reboot than the general video game community is.

Despite this, developer Volition has made it clear that it isn’t going to change the vision it has for the game based on the initial reaction to the trailer.

After responding to a follower with a gif saying “haters gonna hate” and being told it was letting down the fanbase, the official Saints Row Twitter account replied: “We are not backing down on this game. We get it, it’s new and it’s a shock reaction to a reboot like no other.”

The Saints Row reboot was officially announced with a CGI trailer during the Gamescom Opening Night Live event on Wednesday.

Simply titled Saints Row and set for release in February 2022, the game is set in a south-western American region called Santo Ileso.

The player is part of a group of criminals named the Saints, who are trying to make it as a new crime syndicate in the region.

“This full reboot is the most fun and exhilaration we’ve packed into a Saints Row experience to date,” Volition chief creative officer Jim Boone said in a statement earlier this week.

“The iconic new location brings so many exciting opportunities to delight players, whether they are long-time fans of the series or jumping in for the first time.”

Further reading

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First look: Why Saints Row’s reboot is a step forward for the series

Volition is returning to the series' criminal roots for its fifth entry

VGC was shown an extended look at Saints Row gameplay recently. In our Saints Row preview, we said: “The extended presentation we were shown behind closed doors has us eagerly anticipating the game’s release in February, as long as the standard of quality we were shown is maintained throughout the course of the entire game.

“Volition’s attempt to breathe new life into Saints Row – by technically breathing old life into it – may just pay off, and while it may not promise to be quite as ridiculous as the fourth game’s alien-battling nonsense, what we’ve seen reassures us that there should still plenty of fun to be had.”