The popular action-adventure game Stellar Blade has generated approximately $19.42 million USD in revenue for Korean developers SHIFT UP, following sales of over one million units on Sony’s PlayStation 5 console. The developers have also officially informed their shareholders that a PC port is currently in development.
I have a love-hate relationship with Stellar Blade and its developers at SHIFT UP. On one hand, I admire how these Korean developers are challenging social norms in game design, resisting the trend of ESG and DEI initiatives that aim to depict women as ugly androgynous blobs which appease feminist game developers.
On the other hand, I am disappointed that SHIFT UP aligned themselves with Sony Interactive Entertainment, a company that, over the past decade, has frequently disrupted and hindered Japanese game developers who create fanservice-heavy games for male audiences by demanding censorship for their release on Sony systems.
A staple that continues even today.
Stellar Blade, originally revealed as Project Eve in 2019 was initially planned for a multi-platform release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft’s Xbox One.
However, in 2021, the game underwent a major rebranding to become Stellar Blade with developers SHIFT UP partnering with Sony making the game a third-party “exclusive” for Sony’s latest system, the PlayStation 5.
The collaboration between Sony and SHIFT UP, which included marketing and funding support, resulted in a day-one censorship patch that sparked an uproar on social media. This came after several months of gaming journalists criticizing the game as sexist and misogynistic leading up to its release.
A significant social media campaign eventually pushed SHIFT UP to reintroduce the censored outfits back into the game, albeit as separate additions while keeping the original censored designs.
Despite this, since Sony’s first-party titles have been consistently released on PC, it was only a matter of time before Stellar Blade would also make its way to the platform preferred by many gamers.
Back in May, SHIFT UP had already hinted at the possibility of a PC release. Now, the Korean developers have officially confirmed their plans for a Stellar Blade PC port during their latest financial results briefing, where investors inquired about the timing and expectations for the game’s release on PC.
The first question focuses on the performance of Stellar Blade, which is SHIFT UP’s first major game released on home consoles. As a publicly traded company backed by Tencent, SHIFT UP needs to demonstrate strong results to satisfy investors.
They stated that Stellar Blade reached the number one spot in pre-orders on Sony’s storefront prior to launch and sold over one million copies within two months. While SHIFT UP claims that Stellar Blade is a “major global franchise IP” a statement I’m not entirely convinced of though I wouldn’t be against the idea of a sequel in the coming years.
SHIFT UP states that they are consistently releasing content patches and updates to maintain the IP’s value and momentum, which has led to increased player engagement and retention.
The second question addresses why SHIFT UP’s revenue for the game was lower in the second half compared to its initial release window. SHIFT UP explained that they signed a 2nd Party contract with Sony, who understandably seeks to profit from others’ games in exchange for marketing and preferential treatment.
This likely includes support with development and optimization for the PlayStation 5 hardware. According to SHIFT UP, Sony took a significant portion of the game’s revenue as outlined in their contract.
Specifically, SHIFT UP revealed that Stellar Blade generated an impressive 25.9 billion Korean won for the company, which is approximately $19.42 million USD.
Despite the game selling over one million copies at a standard price of $70, which would typically amount to at least $70 million in revenue, the game was developed over several years by a small team. Therefore, nearly $20 million in pure profit, not including Sony’s share, is actually remarkable.
The third question about Stellar Blade inquires about the expectations for expanding to the PC platform. SHIFT UP responded that they are preparing to release the game on PC in the “near future” to maintain the franchise’s momentum.
Interestingly, they claim to expect it to perform even better on PC than it did on Sony’s consoles, which is pretty much certain given the vastly larger demographic of players on the PC.
The day-one censorship implemented by SHIFT UP, due to Sony’s influence, left many fans disappointed and myself enraged. Personally, I don’t own a PlayStation 5 because the console has virtually zero exclusive games that are interesting.
Modern game design seems fixated on ESG and DEI initiatives, with major Japanese and Western developers chasing short-term, politicized revenue by sanitizing games to appeal to a broader “modern audience.”
This strategy isn’t working, as evidenced by the significant failure of Sony’s live service hero shooter “Concord” and the EU propaganda piece “Dustborn” as the industry as a whole continues to undergo studio shutdowns and mass layoffs.
It’s also known that SHIFT UP is currently working on another title, “Project Witches,” which will be released across both mobile and PC platforms. SHIFT UP has stated that they will provide specific details about this new game sometime next year, in 2025.
The Korean developers recently went public, with the founder seemingly becoming a billionaire overnight. Now, the studio is required to file ESG reports, Although SHIFT UP takes pride in not adhering to Western-sensitive “inclusivity” standards and avoiding the portrayal of fugly women in their products, this approach is unlikely to attract ESG hedge fund finances.
SHIFT UP has also announced plans to expand by recruiting around 20-30 new employees by the end of 2024 to support the expansion of Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, their flagship game. They also plan to bring on additional developers for Project Witches, aiming to grow to about 420 employees by the end of 2025, which is quite an ambitious goal.
PC gamers are eagerly anticipating the chance to play Stellar Blade on their platform. Typically, Sony titles on PC are ported by NIXXES and are released without DRM like DENUVO, likely as a cost-saving measure by Sony. However, a downside to the PC release of this game is that it will likely require a PlayStation Network account, thus barring it from sale in over 170 countries.
Sony has been trying to impose such restrictions on PC gamers since Helldivers 2, and the recent PC release of God of War: Ragnarok also mandated a PlayStation Network account, even though it is a single-player game.
Whether or not you plan to buy Stellar Blade on PC, considering SHIFT UP’s compliance with Sony’s censorship and the likely requirement of a PSN account, many avid gamers are eager to experience the game with true 4K resolution.
They look forward to the ability to modify the game and introduce mods, which are likely to be of the sensual variety. Model swaps with prominent characters such as 2B from NieR:Automata to be expected alongside nude mods, and enticing outfits being certain to appear once the game is released on PC.
Given the broader PC audience, SHIFT UP’s expectation of better performance on this platform is pretty much assured.
Expect gaming journalists to once again show their bias by overtly criticizing Stellar Blade and “gamers” in general when the game is officially announced for PC and especially upon its release. The influx of game mods created by enthusiastic gamers is likely to provoke a strong reaction from them.
