{"id":72791,"date":"2026-09-22T15:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T06:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=72791"},"modified":"2026-09-22T15:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T06:05:08","slug":"we-could-only-pay-salaries-for-about-three-months-shift-up-ceo-talks-about-stellar-blades-difficult-development-and-facing-rejection-from-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/we-could-only-pay-salaries-for-about-three-months-shift-up-ceo-talks-about-stellar-blades-difficult-development-and-facing-rejection-from-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe could only pay salaries for about three months.\u201d Shift Up CEO talks about Stellar Blade\u2019s difficult development and facing rejection from investors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South Korean company Shift UP went through many challenges to develop <strong>Stellar Blade<\/strong>, one of the country\u2019s few AAA titles. In a recent interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inven.co.kr\/webzine\/news\/?news=321201\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">INVEN<\/a>, CEO Hyung-Tae Kim reminisced about a time when the company could only afford to pay three months&#8217; worth of employee salaries, as well as his previous doubts about the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim reveals that during development, Shift Up approached several investors and major game publishers with Stellar Blade only to be turned down. He says investors were convinced the game wouldn\u2019t break even, and viewed it as a risk rather than an asset for the company. Some even suggested that if Shift Up were to abandon Stellar Blade and work on a different project, they would value the company more highly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to him, \u201cWhile we were developing Stellar Blade, there was a time when the company was in a situation where we could only pay salaries for about three months.\u201d Considering Stellar Blade was teased back in 2019 under the working title \u201cProject Eve,\u201d this is possibly before Shift Up would reap the rewards of titles such as Goddess of Victory: NIKKE (which released on mobile devices in 2022 and <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/goddess-of-victory-nikke-lifetime-revenue-tops-1-3-billion-with-japanese-players-accounting-for-the-biggest-share-by-far\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">subsequently became a hit in Japan<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1485\" height=\"833\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1485px) 100vw, 1485px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260922-72791-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72794\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260922-72791-001.jpg 1485w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260922-72791-001-380x213.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260922-72791-001-767x430.jpg 767w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim admits that he lacked confidence in Stellar Blade at the time, as he recalled moments when he wondered if making such a game in South Korea was the right decision. Regardless of his doubts, he and his team continued working on the project and were even able to impress former President of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida with <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/the-biggest-reason-for-stellar-blades-success-is-its-combat-says-former-sony-chief\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an early prototype<\/a> (so much so that he offered the company a Sony publishing deal).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stellar Blade\u2019s development was completed, with Kim attributing its success to the players. He said that while Shift UP won\u2019t be able to \u201cdo everything perfectly\u201d and will \u201ccertainly make mistakes,\u201d the company will do its best to create games (including Stellar Blade\u2019s Switch 2 version and future titles) so that it can repay the support it has received. The company is currently working on <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/stellar-blade-blood-rain-director-says-new-heroine-evie-is-being-built-to-be-loved-for-more-than-just-her-looks-using-lessons-learned-from-goddess-of-victory-nikke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stellar Blade: Blood Rain<\/a> (a sequel), as well as an all-new cross-platform IP codenamed \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/shift-up-signs-global-publishing-deal-for-new-multiplatform-game-project-spirits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Project Spirits<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stellar Blade is available on PlayStation 5 and Windows (Steam). A Switch 2 version is set to release on November 5, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/shift-up-plans-to-self-publish-stellar-blade-sequel-and-shinji-mikami-titles-update-on-mysterious-new-flagship-ip-due-within-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Shift Up plans to self-publish Stellar Blade sequel and Shinji Mikami titles. Update on mysterious new \u201cflagship IP\u201d due within 2026<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/stellar-blade-blood-rain-technical-director-addresses-controversial-ai-generated-music-video-says-studio-will-draw-a-clear-line-between-experimental-and-in-game-content\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Stellar Blade: Blood Rain technical director addresses controversial AI-generated music video, says studio will draw a clear line between \u201cexperimental\u201d and in-game content<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The director says that for a time, he had doubts about developing a game like Stellar Blade in Korea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":72793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-09-22T06:05:14+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mw3knawssn2f","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mw3knawssn2f\",\"cid\":\"bafyreie5gx2m6mxolyuqmdsoqvhlvmezzz3okv7qgzq747xd5vfapvyf4a\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreihiwoy4as2t7kef56ywioauii4lbopu3mqzrktfldoe43glbr3r3i\",\"rev\":\"3mw3knax3lv2f\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,3],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-72791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-development","category-news","tag-global-news"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - 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