With PC gaming payment processors, now including PayPal as well as the likes of Mastercard, grilling Steam and Itch.io as they recoil from a recent uptick in pearl clutching, it felt almost ironic to see divisive anime RPG Blue Archive, which came to Steam last month, cruise by without issue. Its Steam launch was delayed due to platform review snags, but developer Nexon Games says the game wasn't censored in order to get it on Valve's store, and it seems to have been unaffected by the ongoing censor storm.
Studio producer Gyeong Seop An discussed the delayed Steam release in a written interview with GamesRadar+.
"First of all, I would like to apologize to all the players for the delay beyond the originally promised launch date. While we cannot go into detail about the issues encountered during the review process, the need to provide the same level of service as the existing mobile version caused some delays. That said, we maintained continuous communication with Steam and worked hard to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. Thanks to their support, we were able to launch on July 4th."
Executive producer Yongha Kim put a finer point on it: "To clarify further, the delay in the Steam launch was unrelated to the game's content. There were no modifications or censorship of the content specifically for Steam approval."
A joint response from the two adds: "We communicated extensively with the platform to identify issues and resolve them as quickly as possible. We would also like to express our gratitude to Steam for their continuous support and assistance throughout the process."
Blue Archive has been around for years as one of the bigger games in the gacha space, and it's cultivated a reputation not just for loud-and-proud sexy characters, but also for having a lot of characters who are, or at least look like, young girls. The cast is not exclusively this type of character, but there are a lot of them. Players assume a "Sensei" role in a world filled with sci-fi schools, and the game leans fairly hard into building student relationships.
Its Steam page notes "This game contains some suggestive images and dialogue that may not be suitable for all ages and access may be restricted for users in certain age groups," and it's rated Mature on mobile.
The core gameplay consists of cute little chibi characters blasting through waves of enemies and bosses in tactical action levels. It has its naysayers, but Blue Archive's strong user reviews shows it also has its devotees. It's already got 13,762 reviews on Steam averaging 92% positive. One of the top recent reviews champions advice I've come to embrace for other games: "Good game though just ignore the fans."
I asked about the colorful rhetoric that had infested the game's Steam forums before it was even released, and the criticism that Blue Archive's character designs have seen over the years. Kim and Seop An jointly responded.
"At its heart, we see Blue Archive as a bright and uplifting game. We know players may interpret its themes in different ways, but our goal has always been to create an experience that celebrates positivity and warmth, resonating with those who appreciate the game’s positive and wholesome qualities."
With more and more gacha games jumping from mobile to PC, and often encountering new audiences less forgiving of the baggage and monetization associated with the genre, I also asked about criticism of Blue Archive's gacha system and drop rates, and potential changes there.
Again, the two devs responded jointly: "We understand this isn’t just about adjusting probabilities slightly, it’s a deeper concern about fairness in the gacha system from the community.
"Creating a system that truly reflects players’ expectations, especially given their time and investment, is a complex challenge. As both developers and fellow gamers, we’re always exploring ways to improve the experience. This includes features like guaranteed rewards or better predictability to make the system more player-friendly."
Elsewhere, in another Steam gacha boom: Move over, Skyrim grandma, because Japan's "legendary horse grandpa" with "40 years of horse racing experience" got a whole new fandom thanks to Umamusume: "This game is at a high level"
