A Japanese gacha game has temporarily turned its characters into shadow people on iOS after Apple flagged parts of its designs as “potentially offensive to some users,” forcing the developers to black out large sections of artwork just to keep the game online.
As reported by Automaton, the trouble started in August when an update for the fantasy mobile RPG Twinkle Star Knights failed Apple’s review process. Apple highlighted issues with certain illustrations and animations, and a revised build was rejected again, with reviewers warning that artwork from the game’s 2023 launch might need to be corrected.
Apple’s App Store guidelines are known for being strict about suggestive art, fantasy violence, and anything that could be considered offensive. Because of this, gacha titles tend to come under closer scrutiny for their character fan service character designs.
Gacha game turns characters into shadows to comply with Apple
The publisher apologized to iOS players and pushed a limited cloud version while it reworked the visuals, but the new visuals were also rejected. Even after overhauling the designs of many female characters, Apple still deemed the game “in violation of guidelines.”
After more than two months of back-and-forth, the developers have rolled out a temporary workaround. Any artwork cleared internally appears as normal, but everything still under revision has been replaced with full black silhouettes.
Replacing huge chunks of the cast with shadowy placeholders just to pass App Store review is rare, but it has proven effective, as the game can still be downloaded.
As for when the Twinkle Star Knights’ cast will step out of the shadows remains to be seen, but for now, the game remains available on both the App Store and Google Play, even if it is a shadow of its former self.
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