Headline  ·  Video Games

After ‘Stellar Blade’ Censors Various Outfits And Gore, Mark Kern Lays Out 8 Step Plan To “Restore The Original Game”

April 26, 2024  ·
  John F. Trent

Eve in Stellar Blade (2024), Shift Up

Former World of Warcraft Team Lead Mark Kern laid out an 8-step plan to restore Stellar Blade after various outfits for the game’s main character Eve were censored and the amount of gore in the game was reduced.

Mark Kern via Sodapoppin YouTube

Kern’s 8-step plan comes in the wake of Stellar Blade promising that the game would be uncensored. The official account posted on X, “Stellar Blade offers the same uncensored version in all countries, including the Japanese version.”

READ: ‘Stellar Blade’ Developer Rejects Western Media Outlets Lampooning Game Over Gender And Racial Diversity

However, as noted by X user Rodrigo Ybañez, one of Eve’s outfits called the Holiday Bunny has added fabric to cover up Eve’s cleavage as well as around her hips.

Rodrigo Ybañez on X

MangaLawyer also shared how the gore was censored. You can see in the screenshot below that the blood spray has been drastically reduced.

MangaLawyer on X

As reported by P9cker_girl, Stellar Blade Director Hyung Tae Kim allegedly acknowledged the censorship stating at a launch event, “We are aware of the issue. The version we ended up showing was a day-one patch version It’s not an answer that will satisfy users anyway. Internal discussions are ongoing.”

p9cker_girl on X

READ: IGN And Kotaku Accused Of Coordinating Censorship Campaign Against ‘Stellar Blade’ By Accusing It Of Racism

She also shared video footage of his comments.

Following all of this, Kern shared his 8-step plan to restore the original game. His first step is reaching out to the game’s creator, Kim Hyung Tae. Kern wrote, “Reached out to Kim Hyung Tae, creator of Stellar Blade. While we have had some casual DMs before, I sent him this, this morning. Launch day is very busy. He will not be in the office for some time, or if he is, it will be in meetings. So I don’t expect to hear back. That’s not the point. The point is to get the ball rolling.”

Next, he shared, “He follows me. As I tweet about what we’re going to do, you can leave replies and he will likely see how many there are and read them. Everything we say matters. The goal is change, and this is a different culture. Let’s set the tone for what they see. Be polite. Be brief, but clear. Show the support for changing it back. No blackpill replies. Everyone fights, nobody quits.”

READ: IGN France Editor-in-Chief Erwan Lafleuriel Implies Eve’s Design In ‘Stellar Blade’ Is Killing Women And Accuses Gamers Of Becoming “Too Fragile Due To Being Fed The Patriarchy”

For Step 3, he wrote, “I am search banned on Twitter, like a NSFW tag artists get. Even though I don’t post NSFW. This is likely to anti-Grummz forces falsely mass reporting me for NSFW (likely Stellar Blade images) and triggering automated responses. This limits people searching for my tweets. Help me get X and Support to to reverse it. Keep tweeting this at them to make them aware.”

“For now, only direct links to my twitter will work, so you have to post a link when you start spreading the battle-plan,” he continued. “Only direct links to my twitter will work, so you have to post a link when you start spreading the plan. Autocomplete to tag me wont work, you have to type @Grummz. Not every user is affected, but the majority are unable to search or tag me automatically.”

Step 4 is to contact Stellar Blade’s developer Shift Up. Kern instructed, “To be most effective, you need to mail a physical letter. Ex-pats or Korean fans need to also politely visit their offices to physically drop off a letter. But ALSO email. You can send it here: cs@shiftup.co.kr.”

“Asian cultures are different, and tone and physical mail carries more weight than emails (funny enough, faxes work too). MMO companies there even have centers customers can visit,” he explained.

Kern then shared an example message to send, “‘Your game is more than a game, it is a cultural beacon worldwide for change in AAA gaming. You have our support, please reverse the changes and show us the game uncensored.’ Second Eve Studio is the studio that makes Stellar Blade.”

READ: IGN Apologizes To ‘Stellar Blade’ Developer Shift Up Corporation For Describing Game’s Protagonist Eve As “A Doll Sexualized By Someone You Would Think Has Never Seen A Woman”

After contacting Shift Up and their subsidiary Shift Up Second EVE Studio, he advised players to contact Sony North America and PlayStation.

Kern wrote, “Sony is different, NA offices are very sensitive to social media. You need to post to them, tag them, and get #FreeStellarBlade trending. There is a double standard. Cyberpunk, Baldur’s Gate 3. Post comparison images with those and other games that Sony also rates Mature. Highlight it, get it trending.”

Next, Kern instructs people to begin boycotting Sony and specifically their PlayStation+ subscriptions. “Boycott, but Boycott the RIGHT target. We’re also going to Support Stellar blade. Send the real target SONY a message. Cancel your PlayStation+ subscription,” he said.

He also advised, “Buy physical copies of the game instead. Don’t give Sony their digital margin.”

READ: While ‘Stellar Blade’ Comes Under Attack, Pre-Orders Increase As Gamers Let Developers Know They Want Beauty In Their Games

Next, he calls for people to sign a Change.org petition he created that calls on the game to be uncensored. Kern posted, “The petition I made to #FreeStellarBlade is up. Sign it, spread it, get it trending: https://chng.it/kRvbkbX6kc.

“Electronic petitions carry less weight in Asia than physical. We will print the petition in Korea and have it delivered to Shift Up offices and Sony office,” he reiterated.

Finally, Kern detailed, “Contact Youtubers. Send them this thread. Get the word out and get them to make content about it. Get loud and #FreeStellarBlade.”

READ: GameSpot Editor Jessica Cogswell Attacks Gamers As “Incel Gamer Dudes,” Previously Shared Animus Against White People

Kern then detailed that he believes this tactic will work because he used it previously to get Blizzard to bring World of Warcraft Classic back.

Reacting to doubters, Kern posted, “‘This plan won’t work, we should just cancel and go home.’ Sorry, you are wrong. I’ve used it before and I’ve won. I lead the change to bring WoW Classic back. I brought the Nostalrius petition to Blizzard and we got it back. We can change it here too.”

“Shift Up would love to have ammo to bring to Sony. We’re going to give it to them,” he continued. “Keep your copies of Stellar Blade. Buy it physical so you have the original outfits. We’re going to change it back.”

It’s unclear why the game was uncensored, but recognizing beauty is not wrong. Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin explained the difference between lust and admiring beauty back in 2018.

Akin states, “Beauty is something that exists in the human form, and God created it and that’s great. … So we’re not supposed to not recognize it or not appreciate it, so it’s perfectly fine to note the qualities, the good qualities, that another person has and to appreciate them. …  So if you see a beautiful woman and you think, ‘Wow, that’s a beautiful woman,’ that’s okay. You’re not committing a mortal sin. You don’t need to worry about that.”

He then contrasts with this lust, “And so it doesn’t become a sin–mortal or otherwise–until you start to voluntarily respond and say, ‘I think I’m gonna indulge this, and I think I’m gonna start thinking about what it would be like to have sex with this person.’ When you start getting voluntary about it, when you start going beyond appreciating the beauty, and deliberately engaging in lustful thoughts, well that’s where it does become sinful. And even then it doesn’t mean it’s a mortal sin because people–and this is true of both sexes, but it’s especially true of guys at a certain point in their lives–it’s very easy to unintentionally slip into some thoughts of that nature, and in those situations there may be some sin, but it’s not a mortal sin because what’s lacking is full deliberation.”

Eve in Stellar Blade (2024), Shift Up

What do you make of Kern’s 8-step plan to have Sony and Shift Up uncensor Stellar Blade?

NEXT: Sony Replaces The Word “Hard” With “Crime” In ‘Stellar Blade’ After Being Accused Of Racism

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Author: John F. Trent
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