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Ever since its first reveal,Stellar Bladehas been no stranger to controversy. Shift Up’s upcoming title has received its fair share of criticism for its suggestive and exaggerated character design. While one could explain that as artistic freedom or creative liberty, some things can’t be swept under the rug.
The developers are now catching some heat for a certain graffiti found in the demo version that many are claiming carries racist undertones. Now, we don’t think it’s an intentional inclusion, and Shift Up has acted quickly by already releasing a fix.
Unfortunate Word Choice in Stellar Blade Graffiti Leads to Sony Statement
Given the complex and evolving nature of language, it makes sense that not everyone would understand subtle nuances that could be offensive. Non-native English speakers have it tougher, as there are some aspects of the language that can only be understood through constant engagement and conversation. Such is the case withStellar Blade’s wall art, which required it to release a hasty patch.
Stellar Blade embargo is up so I can finally show you the “Hard R Shop” graffiti lmao wonder how long this’ll take to get patched out.pic.twitter.com/e7xv2aoxGz
— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon)August 20, 2025
Twitch streamer Lance McDonald shared an in-game screenshot on X showing the unfortunate graffiti. In the image, we see the word ‘Hard’ written in a classic graffiti style, and right beside it is a glowing neon ‘R’ followed by ‘Shop’ and a red arrow. Without going into controversial details, the phrase ‘Hard R’ is a way to refer to a racist slur commonly used against those of African ancestry.
Stellar Blade is to PlayStation What Starfield Was to Xbox, as Fans are Shedding Their Allegiances to Experience Eve
Even though it is unintentional, it’s something that could bring bad press to Shift Up.The game has faced controversy before, but this might be the most substantial one yet. Lance McDonald stated that the developers have already fixed the issue in the patch that adds New Game+ to the title. The patch replaces the word ‘Hard’ with ‘Crime,” which many feel isn’t all that much better but far less inflammatory.
Hahaha it’s already been patched out as part of the patch that adds New Game+. Super quick.pic.twitter.com/uFcdfMu4U2
PlayStation has alsoreleased a statementon the matter, saying Shift Up had no intention to create “offensive artwork” and it will be “replacing the graffiti for the Day 1 patch.” When asked if the art would be replaced on the disc, Sony simply repeated the fact that it would be changed for all users with the patch.
Shift Up’s Upcoming Title Features Many M-Rated Themes
By no means is racism one of them, but Hyung-Tae Kim has been upfront by stating that it is entertainment for adults.The character design, visceral combat, dark narrative, and more are all geared toward mature audiences. Thankfully, the game is going to be released uncensored globally, a feat not many titles can achieve.
“You will know how much the developers love the culture”: Hyung-tae Kim Has One Final Message For Fans Ahead of Stellar Blade’s Release
The lack of censorship inStellar Bladewill be greatly appreciated by the community, as combat seems brutal and difficult. The Naytiba’s designs indicate their attack patterns, with body parts that look like buzzsaws and meat grinders.
Stellar Bladeis easily one of the biggest PlayStation exclusives of the year, and the title will be competing withHellblade 2, which releases on Xbox and PC next month.
Do you think studios should pay more attention during development to avoid such mistakes? Let us know in the comments below.
Sagar Nerala
Articles Published :565
Gaming was one of my earliest passions then along came writing, and here we are. I’ve been in the content creation space for several years now and as gamer for even longer. From understanding the complexities of a multilayer narrative to the simply joy of “big gun go boom”, my goal is to capture all the emotions in between and put them down in an engaging manner.
