Stellar Blade has become one of Shift Up’s biggest successes, but the game’s development nearly pushed the Korean studio to the brink. Shift Up CEO Hyung-Tae Kim has revealed that the company once had enough money to cover only around three months of employee salaries while developing the action RPG.
Speaking to Korean gaming outlet Inven, Kim discussed the financial difficulties surrounding Stellar Blade and the skepticism the project faced from potential investors.
“During the development of Stellar Blade there was a time when the company was in a situation where it could only pay salaries for about three months.”
Investors Questioned Stellar Blade’s Viability
According to Kim, Shift Up approached multiple investors to secure additional funding during development. However, some reportedly questioned why the company was pursuing Stellar Blade when they believed the game would struggle to break even.
Kim said some investors even suggested that Shift Up would receive a higher valuation by working on a different project.
The uncertainty affected Kim personally as well. He admitted there were moments when he questioned whether developing a game of this scale in South Korea was the right decision.
“There were times when I questioned whether it was truly right to make a game like this in Korea.”
Despite those concerns, Shift Up continued development and eventually released Stellar Blade in 2024.
The gamble ultimately paid off. Stellar Blade became a major PlayStation success before expanding to PC, where it surpassed one million sales within its first three days.
Shift Up is now developing Stellar Blade: Blood Rain, the upcoming sequel that was revealed earlier this year. While its release date has not yet been announced, the sequel shows how dramatically the studio’s position has changed since the difficult period described by Kim.
For Shift Up, Stellar Blade ultimately became proof that the decision to continue developing the ambitious action RPG was worth the risk.
