News IGN France apologized to the authors of Stellar Blade

• On March 27th, IGN France published a preview of the action game Stellar Blade. The author of the article expressed admiration for the game, praising its atmosphere and gameplay, which successfully blend mechanics from other games.
• However, the journalist critiqued the main character, Eve. The author noted that she couldn't be compared to iconic characters like Bayonetta and 2B, explaining that Bayonetta stands out for her iconic design while 2B "inspires generations of cosplayers."
• Contrastingly, the Stellar Blade heroine, as described in the text, only sports "a tight jumpsuit that emphasizes absurd proportions and heels perfect for war." The author suggested that the character resembled "a tasteless doll sexualized by someone who has never seen women," with the model's appearance drastically redesigned beyond recognition.
• People reacted negatively to the IGN France quote, with critics noting that the game director of Stellar Blade has been married for over a decade, implying familiarity with the appearance of women.
• Responding to the criticism, some lines were cut and replaced with a note stating that "the statement was corrected after death threats."
• However, in early April, IGN France staff removed the controversial phrase from the text and issued an apology to the developers of Stellar Blade. The statement also clarified that the French branch operates independently from the main IGN.

It was not our intention to disrespect Shift Up, its staff, or their work. We acknowledge that the phrase used was inappropriate and we regret it. We sincerely apologize to anyone at Shift Up who may have been offended by this passage.

From IGN France's statement.

The rest of the text has been left with no noticeable changes.

 

[TeamMate]

Finally these "game journalists" have realized that they should be held accountable for their words. A small victory.

 

[SAWS]

Finally these "game journalists" have realized that they should be held accountable for their words. A small victory.

Death threats are not a small victory and are not proper accountability for an opinion. If this is your line of thinking I beg you to reconsider, don't let the veil of the internet cloud your judgement, this is an actual person.

 

[Logan]

Death threats are not a small victory and are not proper accountability for an opinion. If this is your line of thinking I beg you to reconsider, don't let the veil of the internet cloud your judgement, this is an actual person.

You really think someone threatened this dude? They just put in that "death threats" text to justify that they screwed up and make themselves the victim again. omg

 

[Maestro]

to justify that they screwed up and make themselves the victim again

I totally agree with you. They constantly make themselves victims and act like kids.

 

[SAWS]

You really think someone threatened this dude? They just put in that "death threats" text to justify that they screwed up and make themselves the victim again. omg

Yes, I do. I work in an adjacent field and I can't count how many death threats my colleagues have received over time for stupid, insignificant things like these and we even had a female employee have a dangerous run-in with one of these demented creeps.

You feel comfortable saying it's not real until an anon DMs you your home address and pictures of your close family and I pray it doesn't happen to you, because it's happened to people close to me.