PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade reportedly rated for adults only thanks to nudity and gore

Upcoming PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade will reportedly be rated for adults only, due to nudity and violence. 

Last week, Korean outlet This Is Game reported that Stellar Blade, which is being made in Korea, would receive a rating from the country's board to denote that it wouldn't be suitable for teenagers. In other words, the ratings board thinks that the new PS5 action game is only for adults.

Why is this? There are two main reasons in the ruling. According to the outlet, the first of these is nudity, and the fact that we see a lot of female characters apparently appearing naked within their costumes. For anyone who's seen any Stellar Blade gameplay, this probably isn't a surprise.

The second reason for the rating is down to violence. The outlet reports that there's going to be a lot of bloody violence in Stellar Blade, and also a fair few limbs getting hacked off. Again, this probably isn't a shock to anyone who's taken the time to watch gameplay of its protagonist carving through enemies with a huge sword.

There's been some speculation online that this means Stellar Blade will be rated M for "Mature" by the US's Electronic Standards Rating Board. While this is probably accurate given everything the Korean ratings board has listed, the ESRB hasn't currently revealed its rating for Stellar Blade at the time of writing. 

Speaking to GamesRadar+ recently, Stellar Blade game director Hyung-Tae Kim said it was a "great honor" for the new action RPG to be dubbed the "Korean Nier," because he's a big fan of Yoko Taro's work. The director also said the developer had "put special attention" into protagonist Eve's back, because that's what players see for the vast majority of their time in Stellar Blade.

Stellar Blade launches on April 26, exclusively for PS5. 

See what else Sony has on its schedule for later this year with our upcoming PS5 games guide.