Shift Up May Take on Self-Publishing for Stellar Blade Sequel
The South Korean studio Shift Up has announced a recruitment drive for employees to work on self-publishing projects for the global market. The official title of the future project has not been revealed, but indirect clues suggest it could be a sequel to the popular game Stellar Blade.
One of the key hints was the mention in the job description's benefits section: among the advantages listed is the opportunity to earn "Stellar Blade platinum trophy achievements." This indirectly confirms the new project's connection to the successful franchise.
Currently, the company's website lists several key specialist vacancies.
- Marketing Manager: to develop a global marketing strategy.
- Creative Director: to oversee the creation of marketing, PR, and SMM materials.
- Operations or Release Manager: responsible for launching projects on global platforms.
- PR or Community Manager: will shape the international communication strategy and build interaction with the community.
- Localization Producer: tasks include determining language support, planning the localization scope, and creating a long-term roadmap.
Shift Up already has experience in self-publishing — their debut project, Destiny Child, was released under their direct management from October 2019 to September 2023. After that, the publishing of subsequent games was taken over by external partners: Sony handled the publishing of Stellar Blade, and Tencent is responsible for Goddess of Victory: NIKKE and will oversee Project Spirits in the future.
In June 2024, during a corporate presentation ahead of their KOSPI listing, Shift Up CEO Kim Hyung-tae acknowledged the possibility of returning to the practice of independent game publishing. According to him, the company plans to take this step after building up its competencies through collaboration with global partners.