The highly anticipated action game exclusive to PS5, Stellar Blade, recently had its demo unexpectedly released online by Sony, only to be swiftly taken down.
The Short-Lived Stellar Blade Demo
Unfortunately for those eager to get a taste of Stellar Blade, the release encountered issues, leading to the rapid removal of the demo shortly after it surfaced online. The demo for this PS5 exclusive action game developed by Shift Up, Stellar Blade, made a brief appearance on the PSN Store through Sony’s inadvertent release.
Stellar Blade and its captivating character design, particularly the main character Eve, garnered attention since its announcement in 2021 under the code name “Project Eve.” Players were initially drawn to Eve’s character design and were later impressed by gameplay revelations showcasing high-quality visuals and smooth combat reminiscent of games like Bayonetta and other action RPG staples. As the game’s release date approaches on April 26, 2024, anticipation among PS5 fans is at its peak.
Fans hoping to experience Stellar Blade’s gameplay seemed to have an early opportunity on March 9, 2024, when the playable demo appeared on the North American PSN Store. At that time, it appeared that Shift Up and Sony had decided to “let slip” the demo for the upcoming game, perhaps to build anticipation over a month before the official release. However, within an hour of its launch, Sony quietly removed the ability to download the demo and delisted its product page from the PSN store. All that remained were pre-order pages for the standard version of Stellar Blade and social media posts highlighting the inadvertent reveal and subsequent removal.
The Aftermath and Fan Enthusiasm
While Sony quickly rectified the mistakenly released playable demo of Stellar Blade, some PS5 players were quicker, managing to download and install the demo before its removal. Several users began streaming the demo on Twitch, but these streams were promptly taken down, and various YouTube channels uploaded footage from the demo. It remains to be seen how far Sony is willing to go to maintain the release schedule for Stellar Blade. Some well-known publishers with strict streaming policies, such as Atlus with titles like 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim and Persona 5, have taken stringent actions against unauthorized streams.
Despite that, the existence of the playable demo for Stellar Blade is undeniable, although both Sony and Shift Up have yet to announce an official release date for it. Regardless, this brief saga underscores the excitement of PS5 fans for the game. Stellar Blade holds its ground in the crowded space of major PS5 releases, sharing the spotlight with exclusive titles like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Rise of the Ronin, as well as highly anticipated cross-platform games like Dragon’s Dogma 2, Unicorn Overlord, and Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
