New Lost Ark Class Ditching NSFW Outfits Ahead of Western Release

Lost Ark is getting another new class in the next couple of months, but this new class will look a bit different compared to the Korean version of the character that some people may already be familiar with. Specifically, Amazon Games announced this week that the new class, the Artist, will feature modified skins that have been adjusted to make it so that the character meshes better with “Western norms.” Players have since been debating whether or not this so-called censorship is necessary, though the changes are going through regardless.

The class in question can be seen in the image below tweeted out by the Lost Ark account whenever the roadmap for 2023 and the plans for the Artist were announced. The Artist is more of a supportive character in Lost Ark, but her gameplay isn’t the issue here. Instead, players and Amazon Games are more focused on the Artist’s outfits.

“We know there’s been a lot of speculation in the Lost Ark community on how the Artist Class would arrive in the Western version of Lost Ark, and we want to be transparent with players excited for its release,” Amazon Games said. “Previously, we’ve stated that there may be some content in the original version of the game that gets adapted for Western audiences. While our goal is to preserve the authenticity of the original game, we also work with Smilegate RPG to make localization updates to ensure the game feels approachable and representative of our Western players.”

So, what does this mean for the Artist? Skins will be modified to “better fit Western norms,” and more specifically, “skins with short skirts will have shorts added underneath the skirt, and other skins will have adjusted pant lengths or tights added.”

Most players seem to have no issue with this change given that the Artist isn’t even out in the West yet, so it’s not like Amazon Games is taking someone’s skins and updating them after they’ve already been purchased. Some have bemoaned this change as an act of censorship and have asked Amazon Games to reconsider, though those in favor of the idea have pointed out the apparent age of the Artist. Amazon Games didn’t clarify in the post what age range the Artist is in or anything like that, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed that the Artist certainly has childlike qualities.

The Artist won’t be out until April, so we’ll see closer to then exactly what changes Amazon Games and Smilegate RPG are looking to make.