Yesterday, fans came forward surprised to see different versions of the Holiday Rabbit costume in Stellar Blade; as a result accusations and misinformation overtook the discourse.

The first signs of censorship in Stellar Blade appeared online when users who received physical editions of the game noticed that the Holiday Rabbit outfit was different after the game was patched. This was later thought to be a possible hoax, after footage before the day one patch showed the censored outfit.

What appears to be the case, is that reviewers who received a digital copy of the game were actually playing a 1.01 patch as opposed to the game as it was shipped. This transitional patch between the original game and the “day one” 1.02 patch appears to have been what censored the outfits. The information about the uncensored outfits came from individuals who received their physical editions early and played the game unpatched, which at the time meant that it was difficult to verify.

In the hours since Stellar Blade became available, more users have begun speaking up about the censorship and have been uploading video of the uncensored outfit.

There’s also footage of the director of Stellar Blade allegedly acknowledging the censorship in the latest patch of the game. When asked, he gives a canned response claiming that the censored version is the intended version, but in my opinion it seems like a very “Sony” response.

There have also been other changes, such as reducing the level of gore in the game and how it sticks to Eve’s body. Both of these changes come despite assurances from SHIFT UP that the game would be uncensored for all regions.

Fans of Stellar Blade are organizing online to share their displeasure with the censorship of the game which has seemingly been mandated by Sony.