A graffiti artwork in Stellar Blade, which unintentionally references a racist slur will be patched out and removed, says Sony Interactive Entertainment.

In Stellar Blade, there is an information broker named Roxanne who owns the “R Shop”; however, the graffiti written with the word “HARD”, which can be commonly found in various locations in the game, just so happens to have one placed beside a neon sign advertising the vendor’s shop.

These two visual elements combine into a single phrase that references a highly offensive racist slur towards black people. For those from parts of the world who may not understand the phrase “hard R”, it is used similarly to the phrase “N-word”, referring to and without saying the exact offensive slur directly.

In a statement provided to IGN regarding the artwork, a Sony Interactive Entertainment spokesperson claimed that the phrase was coincidental and not intentional on Shift Up’s part.

“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.”

Considering that the “HARD” graffiti is commonly found throughout the game’s post-apocalyptic urban landscape and how uncommon the racist phrase is used in South Korea, this is likely the case of a blunder.

Stellar Blade is slated to launch exclusively on the PlayStation 5 on 26 April 2024 and on our 8.5/10 review of the game, we described it as “a product of passion, a lovely combination of some of the best action games, rocked to the top with an incredible soundtrack, and boldly celebrates beauty and sexiness with EVE.”

Prior to launch, we also had an opportunity to interview Hyung-Tae Kim, the game director of Stellar Blade and CEO of Shift Up, where he talked about designs, the future of his studio, and confirmation of crossover collaboration with his other game, Goddess of Victory: Nikke.

Stellar Blade

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Developer: SHIFT UP

Release Date: 2024-04-26

PlayStation 5

Ravaged by strange, powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of the decimated human race has fled to a Colony in outer space. After traveling from the Colony, 7^th Airborne Squad member EVE arrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a clear-cut mission: to save humankind by reclaiming Earth from the Naytiba – the malevolent force that has devastated it.