The infamous Asia MMO Blade and Soul is now recommended for ages 15 in Korea, but nothing changes about its explicit content.
As reported by 2p.com, NCSoft has successfully sought a lower rating from the Korean “Game Rating and Administration Committee” (GRAC), which is essentially the Korean USK, for Blade&Soul. It was previously rated 18, now it has been lowered to 15. NCSoft seems to want to make a push in eSports with Blade&Soul and organize tournaments: Games rated 15 are significantly easier to market in Korea and are better received by players.
NCSoft assures that hardly any changes had to be made to the version. Only a minor adjustment was made to the blood animation of Blade & Soul.
In the West, we probably won’t get much of the game’s explicit content; if the port happens, we will most likely receive the toned-down Chinese version when the Western port finally gets underway. There has been silence on that front since 2015.
For those wondering about the customs in Korea, where they have less of a problem with sex than with blood and violence; something similar recently happened with The Elder Scrolls Online: Here, TESO was given a rating of 18 by PEGI, mainly due to concerns about the new justice system. However, TESO has reduced naked skin on its own, with no impact on the age recommendation.
