OFFICIAL: SKULLGIRLS CONTENT UPDATES & REVISIONS

[MightyZug]

Hey everyone,

As many of you know, Skullgirls has had a long and colorful history shaped by a variety of contributors over the years. As we look ahead towards the future of Skullgirls, we have reflected upon past decisions regarding certain content that has undermined the many things that make Skullgirls truly unique and special.

As such, as part of our most recent round of updates across all platforms (console and mobile), we have decided to make some changes to certain legacy content in the spirit of better reflecting our values and our broad vision for Skullgirls moving forward.

Below is an overview of many of those changes and some insight into our rationale for the adjustments.

ALLUSIONS TO REAL-WORLD HATE GROUPS​

While the Renoir family and the Black Egrets were always intended to evoke imagery from an oppressive militant regime, we felt that the way that manifested (most notably via red armbands, flags, and symbolism) was too close for comfort - especially given the unfortunate reality that some of these hate groups are still active in various respects to this day.

As such, you will notice that Egret soldiers no longer feature armbands and that the heraldry of the Black Egrets organization has also been adjusted. This is a holistic pass that applies to in-game frames, concept art, story mode art, and more.

CHARACTER SEXUALIZATION & AGENCY​

While Skullgirls is no stranger to characters that confidently express their sexuality, there are instances in the game where characters are fetishized and/or have sexualization imposed upon them. This includes a few depictions of unwanted predatory behavior, particularly towards younger characters.

While alluding to some of this can be narratively meaningful, we have made a number of small adjustments throughout the game to ensure that this content is less exploitative (e.g. the opening of Filia's Story Mode).

RACIAL SENSITIVITY​

While there are numerous playful references to pulpy themes that we feel respectfully allude to certain stereotypes (e.g. the Saxploitation VO pack), we have made adjustments to some content that we believed to be in poor taste (e.g. references to racial violence in Big Band’s Story Mode).

UPDATE DETAILS​

A more detailed list of the changes can be found in the following platform-specific update notes:

• CLICK HERE for Skullgirls Mobile changes
• CLICK HERE for Skullgirls 2nd Encore changes

CLOSING THOUGHTS​

We of course realize that some members of the Skullgirls community may disagree with these changes, either in terms of how we chose to address them or whether they were in fact issues that warranted addressing in the first place. Please know that all of these choices have been made following careful consideration and lengthy discussion amongst all members of the current development team. Beyond this post, we do not intend to discuss the particulars of these changes further.

We are confident that this will provide a more sound foundation for Skullgirls that we can all be proud of as we continue to grow and expand the universe in the years to come.

Needless to say, thank you all so much for your support over the years. The future of Skullgirls has never looked brighter, and it is all thanks to you and your efforts to help us get to where we are today.

Best,
Charley (MightyZug) and all of us at Hidden Variable, Future Club, and Autumn Games