Cult of the Lamb developer Massive Monster said last week that the upcoming Sins of the Flesh update, slated to go live in early 2024, will not be "the sex update." But now it looks like maybe it will be.
Hopeful speculation about the insertion of sex into Cult of the Lamb was driven by the title of the update, naturally, and also a piece of official art that depicted a gathering of cute forest cultists clothed in nothing but a strategically placed leaf. That almost immediately sparked a conversation in the Steam forums, and by "conversation" I mean people mostly demanding that it actually happen.
Massive Monster eventually stepped in to bring reason to the proceedings. "Don't worry, the 'sex update' is more of a meme in the community," one developer said in response to one Steam user worried that they wouldn't be able to play a game about performing dark rituals and killing non-believers in front of their kids any more. "One some people are really running with ^^.
"The age rating hopefully won't change after this update, as we made sure content adheres to guidelines. Obviously everyone is different but I doubt you won't be able to play in front of your kids if you do already!"
Shockingly, that did not douse the fires of desire.
Massive Monster then decided to play ball: It committed to adding sex to the game if it reached at least 300,000 followers on Twitter by the end of the year. It was an awfully high bar to reach, the sort of goal you'd set if you really didn't want to do whatever was being wagered: As of November 1 (via the Wayback Machine), Massive Monster had just 283,000 followers.
But this is the internet, and we all know what happened next: The goal was crushed, and apparently, the sex is coming.
Oof, that only took 2 hours 🥹Looks like we are adding Sex to Cult of the Lamb. 🥵💦Let's aim for the very beginning of 2024! https://t.co/Fqc6ZYqtII pic.twitter.com/H5N5ElSpMcNovember 28, 2023
How this will work, I do not know. How do you even depict cute cartoon animals doing the nasty? Sims-style blurring? Hand-drawn "censored" signs over the naughty bits? Or do you take advantage of Steam's permissiveness and just let 'er rip in graphic, Full Monty glory? Publisher Devolver Digital was not helpful on that front: "The cult is ever-changing," a rep said. "Not even the Lamb can predict what the future holds."
However it shakes out, one thing's for sure: The fans are happy.
