In a disappointing move that should surprise absolutely no-one, Sony decided to ruin the only good thing they had going for the PS5, by censoring Shift Up's Stellar Blade right before the official release date.
21st APRIL 2024
The official Stellar Blade Twitter account posted the following message (archive here):
「Stellar Blade」 offers the same uncensored version in all countries, including the Japanese version. ステラブレードは、日本版を含むすべての国で検閲されていない同じバージョンを提供しています。 #StellarBlade #PS5 #Uncensored
Three days later, however, it turns out that was a lie - thanks to Sony's intervention.
24th APRIL 2024
It turns out Lance McDonald (allegedly) and the mainstream media coordinated a hit-piece on Stellar Blade for unintentionally placing a 'HARD' graffiti texture next to the letter R. The Day 1 patch replaces the graffiti with 'CRIME' instead.
26th APRIL 2024
Former WoW developer Mark Kern shared information on his Twitter account, documenting changes found by players who owned review copies of Stellar Blade (archive here). Eve's swimsuit seems to have been the most affected by Sony.
In related news, IGN Japan interviewed Yoko Taro (of NieR:Automata fame) and Creative Director Hyung-Tae Kim, where they talked about each other's games. Taro asked Kim a question that caused an interesting reaction (translated).
IGN: Mr. Yoko, it has to be said that you are also well known for your unique vision as a developer. This was already apparent in Drakengard, your first project as director. Was it a long road to become a director?
Yoko: Actually, the person that was directing it at the time became busy with another project. I was asked to take over, so reaching the position of director happened quite naturally. At the time, Square Enix asked me to make a game like Dynasty Warriors, but set in a fantasy world. I thought that would be challenging to pull off, but since I was getting paid I said, "I’ll do it." There weren’t any instructions for the world setting and scenario, so I simply did what I wanted in those areas. I think this resulted in a quite unique product. It was a very dark scenario, and I remember being asked why that was necessary. It ended in a fight (between Yoko and Square Enix). Speaking of which, Mr. Kim, I wanted to ask you if there were any fights with Sony Interactive Enteratainment (SIE), since they are publishing Stellar Blade [emphasis mine].
Kim: (Glances at SIE staff members in the room and laughs.) [Emphasis mine.] The people at SIE are… very, very nice!
Yoko: SIE’s staff members are pulling faces I’ve never seen before. I wish the readers of this article could see it!
WHAT'S THE TAKEAWAY AS OF 26/04/2024?
- Sony are lying scumbags who deserve to go bankrupt
- The only uncensored version of Stellar Blade to now exist is the 1.0 physical disc
- There is no confirmation of a PC release later down the line (therefore, no mods)
- This man is probably the person responsible for the censorship