Game news Already criticized for the sexualization of its heroine, the studio of this PS5 exclusive would have fired two openly feminist people
A true star of Sony’s latest State of Play alongside Death Stranding 2, Stellar Blade is ready to steal the hearts of PS5 players. However, the upcoming release of the game could be marred by a controversy which has resurfaced today.
A problematic studio?
It was during Sony’s last State of Play that Stellar Blade amazed us. Formerly called “Project EVE”, the software from South Korean studio Shift up was supported by Sony and is now preparing to be released exclusively on Playstation 5. On paper, Stellar Blade looks like a really promising title, with explosive action sequences, an original sci-fi universe and stunning graphics.
But now that the project has been more fully presented, a controversy dating from last year has resurfaced. According to Twitter/X users, the Shift Up studio fired two employees for their feminist commitments. These employees allegedly criticized the studio for fan service of Stellar Blade during a meeting with Tencent representatives and were reportedly fired for their remarks.
Fun fact that person Shift up fired was a contractor that happened to be a feminist complaining about fan service and it happened during the shareholder negotiations of Tencent pic.twitter.com/5KOzrPTKKg
β Haru47 ββ π©πͺπ²π½πΊπΈπ―π΅ζ°δΊΊγ²γΌγ ιηΊθ (@NotHaru47) August 24, 2023
A recurring controversy
This is not the first time similar accusations have been made against Shift Up. Already in 2022, the studio is said to have harassed an employee and deleted her work before firing her because of a feminist hashtag used on Twitter. This case would ultimately be associated with the Megalia movement, which would be supported by the employee fired by Shift Up.
In South Korea, Megalia was a feminist activist group, considered an “emblem of popular feminism in the country”. Although the group originally used satire and irony to make fun of the misogyny that permeates South Korean society, Megalia would in fact have welcomed into its midst people with more extreme ideas relaying misandrous messages and inciting hatred towards men. This would therefore partly explain the dismissal of this Shift Up employee. At present, it’s difficult to tell the truth from the false, especially when we know that Megalia ended up disappearing in 2017. Shift Up has not yet officially responded to these accusations.