- Naughty Dog character concept designer Nam Hyoung Taek has come under fire for his artwork of Eve from Stellar Blade.
- Fans are calling the design ugly and manly with others saying it’s woke.
- Naughty Dog has also been receiving backlash for DEI elements in its new IP Intergalactic.
Since its release at the start of the year, Stellar Blade has been a massive success for Shift Up and PlayStation, selling over a million copies. A big reason for the new IP’s success was its protagonist, Eve, who became a fan favorite for her objective beauty.
Many people praised the design of Eve created by Shift Up, and it seems that any new version of the Stellar Blade main character might not be as well received.
When Naughty Dog’s character designer, Nam Hyoung Taek, released his own version of Eve, gamers didn’t seem to like it much.
Why This Matters: Naughty Dog has been under fire recently from the gaming community for DEI elements in games, and this artwork just adds fuel to the fire.
The official Stellar Blade account on X posted this artwork from the lead character concept designer at Naughty Dog to a hostile reception from fans. Fans in the replies called the face of Hyoung Taek’s Eve ugly, saying the concept art made her look manly.
Most of the comments under the post amplified the same opinion, calling this version of the Stellar Blade protagonist garbage and terrible.
Some replies also accused the Naughty Dog designer of making Eve “woke,” further stating that the art was revolting at best.
This seems to be a running trend for Naughty Dog. The studio has also come under fire recently for the alleged DEI elements in its newly announced IP Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The sci-fi adventures trailer surpassed the video game dislike record set by Concord earlier this year.
The game’s backlash has been so bad that the studio had to turn off commenting on its posts. Intergalactic lead actor Tati Gabrielle also called out this behavior from fans, who even criticized the upcoming IP in the official holiday greeting from Naughty Dog.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.