Well, I’m amazed. A massive social media campaign involving tens of thousands of users, without review bombing or demanding refunds, has resulted in a monumental win for gamers.
Korean developers SHIFT UP have quietly included two of the uncensored outfits in a recent update for Stellar Blade, undermining Sony’s globalist censorship efforts. This move has frustrated journalists who spent the past several months condemning Stellar Blade as sexist and defending Sony’s censorship policies.
Previously, Stellar Blade faced backlash for a day-one update that altered two in-game outfits to be less revealing, seen as a bait-and-switch tactic by Sony. Their progressive policies mandate the censorship of games like Stellar Blade to remove “problematic” elements such as femininity, while they simultaneously promote mature games like The Last of Us Part 2, which features explicit queer sex scenes.
Given that SHIFT UP essentially sold their soul to Sony, who acquired the publishing rights and made the game a third-party “exclusive,” it was no surprise that Stellar Blade launched censored.
However, the egregious manner in which this was handled, through a day-one update, was perhaps the most ingenious and cunning way of telling consumers to get fucked, which is exactly why Sony had no other option but to accept refunds for digital purchases of Stellar Blade due to false advertisement.
In an interview about the censored outfits, SHIFT UP claimed that the modified, less revealing designs were always their initial vision. This explanation comes despite the game being extensively marketed with the more revealing outfits, only to replace them with censored alternatives in a post-release update.
Although the director of Stellar Blade, Hyung-Tae Kim, stated it was always “their vision,” it’s obvious that SHIFT UP were coerced by Sony to implement these changes and, understandably, he wouldn’t criticize their contractual publisher.
Nevertheless, instead of demanding refunds or review bombing the game, as seen with Helldivers 2 following Sony’s requirement for PC players to create a PlayStation Network account and link their Steam accounts to PSN for greater control and the ability to suspend and ban problematic users, players chose a different approach.
The censored release of Stellar Blade sparked outcry, with Mark Kern, also known as Grummz, organizing a change.org petition alongside the “FREE STELLAR BLADE” campaign. Together, they managed to amass over 90,000 signatures.
Now, shockingly, it appears that SHIFT UP has had a change of heart, reintroducing the two uncensored outfits into the game as additional cosmetic options discreetly in the latest update.
In Stellar Blade’s most recent update, a “Boss Rush Mode” was introduced, alongside various quality-of-life improvements. Additionally, two new Kunoichi outfits were added, one in white and the other in black.
The reintroduction of the uncensored outfits was conspicuously absent from the changelogs, mirroring how their censorship was originally undisclosed. However, players swiftly discovered their return to the game under the names Midsummer Redhood and Midsummer Alice.
The reintroduction serves as evidence that when gamers unite, they can prevail over vindictive corporations fixated on censorship. Although the Free Stellar Blade campaign wasn’t as massive as the anti-PSN movement for Helldivers 2, and didn’t involve mass review bombing or thousands demanding refunds, it’s clear that gamers have emerged victorious in the end.
Clearly, journalists aren’t pleased with our victory. Forbes video game writer Paul Tassi lamented the introduction of the new outfits in his article titled “‘Stellar Blade’ Patch: Boss Rush Mode And ‘Uncensored’ Outfits,” defending the original censorship by claiming that SHIFT UP were essentially coerced into accepting blame from Sony. Tassi argued that the modified outfits were merely a “design choice.”
Paul Tassi essentially critiqued the “culture war” surrounding the censorship and the demands to uncensor the game. He argued that the group criticizing Sony, a company with a long history of imposing censorship on Japanese developers since 2018, should not be rewarded with these outfits. Tassi further claimed that the day-one censorship of Stellar Blade was little more than a conspiracy theory, a popular buzzword among such retards.
It certainly bothers journalists when developers understand what truly makes their player base happy, but of course this is the current year and what the consumer wants is completely irrelevant because it’s problematic.
What Paul Tassi is trying to do here is label those who don’t adhere to his own ideology as “culture warriors” simply for being against corporate tyranny, censorship and false advertisement. Slandering those who joined the Free Stellar Blade campaign as a cohort of sex-crazed perverts.
There’s no actual evidence, aside from Stellar Blade’s director defending Sony’s last-minute imposition of censorship, that it was truly a design choice. This is why, for countless months leading up to the game’s release, trailers and a game demo always featured the uncensored outfits.
SHIFT UP sold their soul to the devil (Sony), so it’s no surprise they would take the fall on Sony’s behalf. Sony paid them big bucks for publishing rights to a game their own policies oppose.
Stellar Blade was marketed as releasing uncensored across all regions, and the physical release version was free from the day-one update that modified two in-game outfits.
However, to play the physical release in its original state, you had to remain entirely offline. Naturally, consumers would be outraged upon discovering they were deceived by Sony’s globalist agenda that condemns femininity in video games. There’s no conspiracy about it. If you bought the game, you’re entitled to a refund.
I am still conflicted. While I’m thrilled to see the uncensored outfits readded to the game, they are optional outfits that are fairly easy to obtain, rather than simply uncensoring the originally modified outfits. It’s still a clever move, but this is far better than nothing.
The primary selling point of Stellar Blade was its attractive emphasis on the female form, specifically the focus on tits and ass. I’ve speculated for a long time, considering the game is merely a third-party Sony title, but it’s already been confirmed that a PC port for Stellar Blade is currently being “explored.”
The reintroduction of the uncensored outfits will likely persuade more individuals to buy the game on PC. However, this victory for the tens of thousands who joined the Free Stellar Blade campaign certainly won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
