Stellar Blade controversial artwork contains racist undertone, set to be removed in Day 1 patch

Shift Up's Stellar Blade will be released on April 26, 2024, and has already garnered a bit of controversy surrounding its protagonist EVE. To make matters worse, users with early access have spotted a curious little sign in the city of Xion that is accessible a few hours into the game's extensive campaign.

The artwork (albeit unintentional) mentions "Hard R" and is set to be removed by Sony Interactive Entertainment via the day one patch.

As detailed in the post above, a section of Stellar Blade's in-game hub contains a curious sign beside a shop. The sign, combined with the wall graffiti reads "Hard R," and is quite striking in its placement.

This controversial artwork didn't sit well with netizens, with some calling out the developer. The information comes courtesy of Lance McDonald on X, who spotted it prior to the embargo period.

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment has already responded to the matter, and is set to delete and/or modify the existing artwork to rectify it and make it not appear offensive.

This is set to be included with the day-one patch, which is a mandatory install. The patch is live at the time of writing this article, clocking in at just over 4 GB. Both Sony and Shift Up have confirmed that the placement of the signs was unintentional and an unfortunate oversight.

Given how the "R" sign refers to Roxanne's shop (one of the information brokers within the game, and a key NPC), the racist undertones suggested genuinely appear unintentional and an unfortunate coincidence at best.

Sony's statement comes courtesy of a post regarding the same artwork by IGN.

Stellar Blade is an action-adventure, hack-and-slash title from Shift Up and Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. Stay tuned for more