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

Publisher Sony replaced the word “hard” with “crime” in Stellar Blade after the game was accused of racism.

Eve in Stellar Blade (2024), Shift Up

In one section of the game, the player can see graffiti that reads “Hard” on a wall. Next to this graffiti is a sign for the R Shop with an arrow pointing to it.

IGN’s Kat Bailey reported that the graffiti and the R shop sign “reference racist slurs” that was “discovered during the review process.”

Screenshot from Stellar Blade (2024), Shift Up Corporation via IGN

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”

According to Urban Dictionary Hard R is “A phrase referring to the words ‘n****’ and ‘n*****,’ the latter being referred to as ‘the hard R.'”

Interestingly, Bailey notes, “In Stellar Blade, the ‘R Shop’ references Roxanne, who is one of the game’s information brokers. The ‘Hard’ graffiti, meanwhile, can be found in numerous areas throughout the game.”

Nevertheless, Sony informed IGN, “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.”

A screenshot of Stellar Blade (2024), Shift Up

As reported by YouTuber Lance McDonald, the “Hard” graffiti was changed to “Crime” “as part of the patch that adds New Game+.”

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”

This change appears to fly in the face of a post from April 21st that claimed that Stellar Blade would be uncensored in all countries. The official Stellar Blade account posted, “Stellar Blade offers the same uncensored version in all countries, including the Japanese version.”

「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 pic.twitter.com/dJojSgZH9y

— StellarBlade (@StellarBlade) April 21, 2024

What do you make of Sony’s statement and its changing of the “Hard” graffiti to “Crime?”

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