Blade and Soul is coming !

NCsoft is putting to rest rumors that Blade & Soul is going to be censored in the west. NCsoft is required to abide by certain ESRB rules and guidelines in regards to its marketing. However, there are no plans to censor or change the in game content for its western users. We will all be able to enjoy the gorgeous art style of Hyung-Tae Kim in Blade & Soul.

This is an exciting time for us as we can now use our official website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page to share information and provide status updates on the development of Blade & Soul® for Western audiences. We will use these platforms as a way to not only distribute official assets and information, but to directly address community concerns. With that in mind, we wanted to take a moment to shed some light on rumors that NCsoft West is censoring the content of Blade & Soul.

As you know, Blade & Soul features a rich, beautiful world inspired by the artistic style of Hyung-Tae Kim, an internationally renowned artist we consider ourselves fortunate to be working with. Hyung-Tae Kim brings with him a very recognizable and risqué anime style that, combined with the game's deep storyline and modern martial arts style combat, delivers a game experience like no other.

Due to ESRB guidelines, however, our marketing material must abide by a different set of considerations than the final product. This is why Blade & Soul's rating is listed as "pending." It is NCsoft West's intention to accurately depict the game in its original, unaltered form, with only minor adjustments for gameplay considerations.

In short: We are not planning to censor or alter the actual in-game content you have come to expect from an artist such as Hyung-Tae Kim and a studio such as Team Bloodlust. Rest assured that we love Blade & Soul as much as you do, and any modifications to the marketing material are not indicative of our plans for the final content.

We appreciate your concern, and we hope that we've helped set your minds at ease. We're very excited about bringing Blade & Soul to Western audiences, and we intend to do our best to deliver the game you want to play.

-- Blade & Soul Team, NCsoft West