Blue Archive global was review bombed for censoring an in-game scene. Previously, Nexon reassured players that the art will remain unchanged. Many players feel lied to, and as a result, took to the game’s Google Play Store page to voice their dissatisfaction.

24 hours after we covered the censorship accusations, the game’s review score on Google Play Store has dipped from 4.2 to a 2.0 score at the time of writing.

The scene in question belonged to Volume 2, Chapter 1, Episode 4 of the game. Players have noticed that a scene depicting the character, Alice (or Aris as she’s referred to in the story), has been cropped. For a full breakdown of the scene and how it was censored, you can read our coverage of it.

A Reddit user, u/Makiisekuriisu2232, received a reply from Blue Archive‘s Thai customer support on that issue, and shared a screenshot and a translation of the response:

The translation (edited for clarity) reads:

As the game’s global version is released in many countries around the world, some countries’ child protection laws are involved. To prevent issues from arising, we have to cut out some content to provide the service without any issue in every country. We promise that we will try to stick to the original game as much as possible.

While it’s important to comply with laws and regulations, changes—especially those that go against what was previously announced—should be informed to the community in advance.

UPDATE: Kim Yong-ha, the Program Director of Blue Archive, has responded to the issue:

To stay updated with all things-Blue Archive, follow the game on Twitter.

Download

Blue Archive

Publisher: Yostar Inc, Nexon

Developer: NAT Games

Release Date: 2021-02-04

Android, iOS

You have been appointed as an advisor to the Federal Investigation Club, Schale, located in Kivotos. It's a huge academy city where numerous academies are clustered together. Resolve the endless incidents that occur in Kivotos with charming allies full of personality, and build special memories with them!