Stellar Blade has continued to make headlines right from the time of its initial announcements, for reasons both good and bad. Shift Up’s first-ever console game launched on PlayStation on April 26, 2024, amidst much hype, and also received a favorable reception from critics and fans.
Several players have appreciated the game for its story, combat system and others, however, there are a lot of fans who disappointed by the Stellar Blade day one patch released by the developers. The day one patch added the New Game Plus feature to Stellar Blade. But that wasn’t what bothered the players. The patch significantly changed the multiple in-game outfits
Fans feel scammed by Stellar Blade‘s censored outfits
Just days prior to the launch, the devs posted a statement on their official X handle regarding the censorship status of the game. The post dated April 21, claimed that the game will be “uncensored worldwide.” This meant that all countries would receive the same uncensored version of the game.
However, the day-one patch renounced that claim. Players were quick in noticing the censorship of various outfits, including the bunny outfit. As compared to the trailers and early visuals, the outfits in the game post the patch looked noticeably different.
Players stormed social media expressing their disappointment with the latest patch.
I knew Sony would have their hands on Stellar Blade when it finally launched.
They couldn't handle the sexy swimsuits. It seems that the swimsuit's ample cleavage and high waist openings were too much. They changed it to the granny model.#StellarBlade #StellarBladeCensored pic.twitter.com/O8SNUiNBEU
— GameCharactersAI (@GameCharacterAI) April 26, 2024
it's several other outfits bro
they censored the game last minute with a day 1 patch… this feels like a scam!
especially after all the marketing being about sexy outfits and the announcement of "UNCENSORED WORLDWIDE"
this feel like a SCAM pic.twitter.com/U5yNotmDix
— Luis_CCS 🇻🇪🇺🇲 (@luis_came) April 26, 2024
I mean, isn't this false advertising ? Can't patch it day one after you sold them?
— Thunda (@Thunda818) April 26, 2024
Some players have also started an online petition with the hashtag #FreeStellarBlade, demanding the changes be reverted. The petition has already garnered over 11,500 signatures.
Censorship is a matter of debates with regard to Stellar Blade for some time now. It is mainly because of the game’s protagonist, Eve, being designed after a real-life Korean model. The developers have also received a lot of flak for “over-sexualizing” the character.
Shift Up responds to the censorship criticism
The developers have also responded to the criticism the day one patch has been faced with. At the Stellar Blade launch event, the game’s director, Hyung-Tae Kim, addressed the outfit censorship issue. He said that the honey rabbit outfit appears as intended in the final game after the patch.
He explained,
“Understandably we also recognize about the issue. However, the final costume that we wanted to show you is indeed the costume in version 1.0.0.2. I want to clarify that is our final product. However, I know this answer is not enough to convince our users. There is an internal discussion ongoing regarding this. So I think we’ll have a chance to answer it soon.”
There are fan theories doing rounds that that Sony pushed for additional censorship based on this response. Besides the game also caught the public eye for an racist slur seen in one of the graffiti of the game, which has now been fixed. Sony is yet to respond to all the allegations and criticism.
That being said, it seems highly unlikely for the game to return to its original uncensored state now. The only way players can enjoy the uncensored version of Stellar Blade for a few days is by declining the latest patch update.
