Stellar Blade Censored? The 'Hard R' Controversy Explained

Stellar Blade is being censored! However, not in the way that most gamers feared.

Published Apr 25, 2024 12:42 AM by Tom Collin

Stellar Blade Censored? The 'Hard R' Controversy Explained — SHIFT UP Corporation

Eve's shapely backside has, for better or for worse, been the focal point of most discussion surrounding SHIFT UP's newest RPG. Stellar Blade's release is imminent, and it seems the game has one more controversy tucked up its skinsuit to get folks squabbling. This time, however, the topic is far less amusing than a jiggling rump.

Stellar Blade 'Hard R' Censored

Censorship has come to Stellar Blade after all! But maybe that's okay in this case. Here's why.

The world of Stellar Blade is rather grim, taking place on an Earth almost empty of human life. Part and parcel of such a world are rundown towns and dingy cityscapes. In the latter, graffiti is a fact of life in particularly gnarly areas. And therein lies SHIFT UP's mistake.

One particular item of graffiti spells the word 'HARD' in all caps. This, on its own, is whatever. However, immediately after this graffiti is a neon light sign in the shape of an 'R.' Put these two bits together and you've got yourself a 'Hard R,' which many Western players, particularly those hailing from the US, might interpret to be a distasteful reference to the complete spelling of the n-word.

Responses to the controversy are mixed, with many gamers from the US interpreting the graffiti-neon-sign combo as worthy of removal if only to avoid more drama. Eastern audiences appear to be more likely to shrug their shoulders at the whole debacle, perhaps due to racial tensions being far less of a spotlighted issue in their own countries.

SHIFT UP's Response to the Hard R Controversy

Whatever gamers' overarching thoughts on the matter, SHIFT UP was quick to act in response to the complaints. They claimed that the graffiti-neon-sign combo was, in fact, an entirely unintentional mistake, not a wayward attempt at edgy humor. As such, the 'Hard R' reference has already been patched out of Stellar Blade and will not appear in the launch edition of the game.

My personal take on the whole thing?

Censorship sucks. But so does accidentally offending audiences on the other side of the planet with a reference that you, being an Asian developer, probably didn't even consider when building your game world. In fact, I'm not even sure if this qualifies as censorship as some folks are suggesting. It's just removing an unintentional reference to a touchy subject, a subject that should be the farthest thing from a gamer's mind as they get immersed in a sweet new RPG.

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