Shift Up revealed several details about its upcoming titles in its Q1 earnings report for the current fiscal year. While existing titles such as Goddess of Victory: NIKKE and Stellar Blade are performing well and will continue to be supported through new content and physical merchandise (for NIKKE), as well as seasonal discounts (for Stellar Blade), the South Korean developer and publisher has already made plans for the future.
The Stellar Blade sequel marks the beginning of Shift Up’s first-party service model
Unlike the first game, which was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, the Stellar Blade sequel will be fully self-published by Shift Up. This will give the studio more creative freedom over the IP, particularly when it comes to leading marketing strategies that “communicate the unique appeal of Stellar Blade’s universe to players more directly and effectively.” Using the first game’s success as a springboard, Shift Up is planning an optimal market strategy that is designed to “maximize sales and reach a broad global audience from day one,” suggesting early multiplatform support.
The earnings report also says that development of the sequel is “progressing smoothly” and is on track to meet the studio’s quality standards.
Unbound-developed titles will also be self-published by Shift Up, which acquired the company in March
Like the Stellar Blade sequel, games under the Shinji Mikami-led studio Unbound will also be self-published by Shift Up. Unbound has been working closely with Shift Up on several titles, many of which are expected to be released in a sequential manner. More news about the Unbound-developed games will be released over time.
Since Shift Up is self-publishing more titles, the studio announced that it is constantly hiring more people with experience in launching and operating major worldwide games. There doesn’t seem to be any shortage of aspiring candidates either, as getting the opportunity to publish the next Stellar Blade and first Unbound titles has allowed the studio to “rapidly strengthen its in-house publishing capabilities”.
Project Spirits’ development is going smoothly
Just as mysterious as Unbound’s games is Shift Up’s own working title and next new flagship IP, codenamed “Project Spirits.” While there is little to no information other than it is an Eastern fantasy-inspired game targeting niche, otaku audiences directed by Daehoon Han (credited in Hike Games’ Metallic Child and Smashing The Battle), Shift Up says that the game’s development is “progressing well.”
Shift Up plans to share more details about the title in 2026, with no visible changes to the planned PC and mobile release in 2027. This title will be co-published alongside NIKKE’s global publisher, Level Infinite.
