Top Hat Studios Inc., the publisher behind Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story, released a statement on Twitter over the weekend decrying apparent demands for censorship of the title.
Also known as Project Sense, the game was funded on Kickstarter in 2018 and was billed as one of the last ever PlayStation Vita releases (it’s also coming to the PlayStation 4). Sense first released on PC to average reviews, and is now gearing up for release on consoles, starting with the Nintendo Switch. It’s apparently the impending console releases that have caused a stir.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT REGARDING CALLS DEMANDING CENSORSHIP OF SENSE – 不祥的预感: A CYBERPUNK GHOST STORY
Our commitment to our audience and to developers is we will never infringe on creative freedom or expression. pic.twitter.com/VV5IcGbJ7P
— Top Hat Studios, Inc (@TopHatStudiosEN) January 1, 2021
Top Hat Studios’ Twitter statement seemingly came out of the left field. Once it got picked up by sites like ResetEra, many questioned whether there were any widespread demands for censorship to begin with. Others suspected that the publisher released the statement for attention, which it did end up receiving along with support from Twitter users who rushed to purchase the title on Steam in a show of support. In response to this, Top Hat Studios published a five-part thread on Twitter full of screenshots of emails, messages, and tweets criticizing Sense‘s art style and sexualization.
We originally did not want to make this post, as to not accidentally incite a search for these posters and cause further fights. However, as there are now industry-adjacent people slandering/gaslighting us as liars, we’ve compiled a sampling from twitter, FB, and email. (1/5) pic.twitter.com/TJlNS4tWTd
— Top Hat Studios, Inc (@TopHatStudiosEN) January 2, 2021
Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story has yet to be dated for PlayStation platforms.