The latest updates for Skullgirls 2nd Encore and Skullgirls Mobile have reworked or removed older content that devs say doesn't "reflect [their] values". This mostly encompasses some of the more sexual material, removing images that sexualise minors or Nazi iconography.
Animations have been left intact, with the patch notes making it clear that the game will still depict characters that "confidently express their sexuality". However, Filia and Parasoul have been hit with palette changes, making panty shots less obvious in Filia's case, and getting rid of Parasoul's red armband. The opening to Filia's story mode has also been amended, reworking the artwork that gives players a close-up of a man groping the 16-year-old.
The update has proven to be incredibly divisive amongst players, many of which are spamming negative reviews on Steam. Critics accuse the devs of censorship, even though it seems that the developer and publisher came to the decision themselves, and weren't asked to do this by an outside party. In the patch notes, the game director says that this patch is the result of "careful consideration and lengthy discussion amongst all members of the current development team," and doesn't elaborate further.
While the removal of Nazi-inspired armbands and panty shots of a minor seems to have attracted most of the attention, there are other features that have been removed with the update. Most dramatically, the entire Soviet Announcer voice pack has been removed, and it's not clear why. This could tie into the devs not wanting to promote groups that don't align with their values. Big Band and Peacock have also lost an intro voice line each, but it's not clear which ones have been cut.
Despite the review bombing, some fans have no issue with the update, wondering why other players are so fussed about a few artwork changes - especially when one concerns a minor. They're also pointing out that quite a few of the negative reviewers have little to no playtime on the game, suggesting that they weren't even fans to begin with. Admittedly, there are some reviews coming from those with decent playtime, so it's clear that some longtime players disapprove of the change.
Others say that the changes "sanitise" the game after it has already been available to play for ten years without issue. They also complain that some images are being removed from a digital artbook that costs an additional $10 to purchase, seemingly without any kind of compensation to those that bought it.
But of course, some people are just really really upset that they can't see a 16-year-old's underwear anymore. Which I think we can all take a little less seriously.
Neither the Skullgirls publisher nor developer has commented on the matter further, and it doesn't seem like they will. In the meantime, the discourse continues.