After Stellar Blade was one of the most popular and successful action games in 2024, it was hardly a surprise when developer Shift Up confirmed that it was working on a sequel less than a year after the first game's release. While there's a lot we still don't know about what is just known as Stellar Blade 2 for now, we do know it'll be out on multiple platforms, and as of today, according to Shift Up we know that development is "progressing smoothly," and that we'll hear more about this coming game before the end of the year.
That's from the company's latest financial report in the Q&A section, in response to questions about the development and strategy for the next Stellar Blade game. "Development of the next Stellar Blade title is progressing smoothly, on track to meet our targeted quality standards," Shift Up says.
Later in the Q&A, Shift Up also confirmed what was already suspected, which is that yes, it will be publishing Stellar Blade 2 on its own. As seen above, the studio marks Stellar Blade 2 as the beginning of its shift "to a first-party service model," as it looks to use three key "tailwinds," which it identifies as "high-quality self-publishing capabilities, a sales maximization strategy, and a proven IP fanbase," to continue growing the company.
That said, it's not self-publishing everything it is working on. Shift Up's next flagship game beyond Stellar Blade, Project Spirits, is being published by Tencent, we learned last year. That title is also "progressing well," according to Shift Up, "underpinned by efficient cost management and a well-structured development process."
More on Project Spirits is also said to be revealed within 2026, so hopefully we'll know what the game is officially called and more about what Shift Up is actually building with Tencent, soon.
When Stellar Blade launched back in August 2024, Wccftech's Kai Tatsumoto gave it a 9/10, writing, "Taking a step back from Kim Hung Tae's character designs for a moment, Stellar Blade is a phenomenal action RPG that evolves from the framework of NieR Replicant and NieR Automata to become one of the next cult classics." It'll be interesting to see how Shift Up evolves on what it built with the first game, and we could start to see its vision for that evolution as early as June with Summer Game Fest 2026 around the corner.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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