A content roadmap for 2023 from Lost Ark has revealed that the upcoming Artist class will see some of its skins censored for its global release. The popular Amazon-published MMORPG has already revealed plenty of its major plans for the early months of 2023, including the upcoming collaboration with The Witcher. The game will also ring in the new year with its first anniversary festivities set to come during February, introducing a brand new continent to the global version with Rowen. Among the most notable additions to the RPG will be its newest class, the Artist.
Lost Ark revealed the Artist class as a support specialist with a variety of skills allowing players to launch powerful attacks or strengthen and heal allies. The Artist's main gameplay gimmick comes from its Moonfall and Sunrise ability, utilizing the new "Harmony" mechanic to empower their attacks and support abilities. With the release of the Artist coming soon, many fans have speculated about how the character's appearance will transfer from the game's original Korean version. Now, Amazon Games has given more details about the confirmed censorship of Lost Ark's Artist.
The Artist segment of the 2023 roadmap goes more into detail about how the Artist will be changed with their release in the Western version of Lost Ark. The post confirms that some aspects of the Artist's skins will be changed to "better fit Western norms," working with developer Smilegate to provide an "approachable and representative" experience for Western audiences. The post goes on to specify that several skins with short skirts will be seeing shorts added underneath, while others will see changes to pant lengths or the addition of tights.
The censorship of the Artist's outfits would not be the first time Lost Ark has addressed the topic of censorship within the game. Amazon Games and Smilegate assured fans earlier this year that pre-existing Lost Ark outfits would not be censored, instead altering promotional images and creating less revealing options. Censorship has been a long-standing part of the video game industry with revealing outfits in games often seeing changes when brought to a Western audience.
The addition of the Artist to Lost Ark's global version in April comes as just part of a jam-packed Q1 in store for fans in 2023. Alongside the previously mentioned Witcher collaboration and new region, Lost Ark is set to introduce a new 48v48 PvP game mode with the addition of the Tulubik Battlefield in March. April will also see several new bosses with the addition of a Hard Mode of the game's Brelshaza fight and the Hanumatan Guardian Raid. Lost Ark looks set for a busy start to 2023 with plenty of new content for fans to dive into coming soon.
Lost Ark is available now for PC.
Source: Smilegate
