Sony has clarified that the graffiti in Stellar Blade, which bore a resemblance to a racial slur, was unintended and will be removed via a day one patch. The game, developed by Shift Up Corporation, was brought under scrutiny after a discovery made by IGN exposed a reference to a racial slur in the form of graffiti within the game. The controversial graffiti, featuring the word “Hard” adjacent to the “R Shop,” coincidentally formed an offensive phrase in conjunction with the NPC’s name, Roxanne.
Despite the “Hard” graffiti being part of the game’s generic scenery dressing and found in multiple locations, Sony emphasized that this specific instance was unintentional on the part of Shift Up Corporation. In response to the controversy, Sony issued a statement to IGN, stating, “The placement of two graphics near each other in Stellar Blade resulted in an unintentional objectionable phrase. Shift Up had no intention of creating offensive artwork and will be replacing the graffiti for the Day 1 patch.”
While initial concern raised questions about whether the offensive art would be removed from the physical version of Stellar Blade, Sony assured that it will be eliminated for all users with the Day 1 update. The swift action taken by the developers was evident, as Kotaku reported that the graffiti had already been replaced with new artwork reading “Crime” in a review copy of the game.
Stellar Blade is scheduled for an exclusive launch on April 26 for the PlayStation 5, catering to eager gamers anticipating the release of this awaited action role-playing title.
