This morning, South Korean developer SHIFT UP, known mainly to PC and console gamers for Stellar Blade, announced the acquisition of UNBOUND, the new studio founded by industry legend Shinji Mikami, who was instrumental in the creation of Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and The Evil Within, among others.
SHIFT UP CEO Hyung-Tae Kim stated:
I find it deeply meaningful to join forces with UNBOUND, which brings together a world-class development team led by CEO Shinji Mikami. This acquisition will serve as an opportunity to deliver the best gaming experience to users worldwide and further solidify SHIFT UP’s global development competitiveness. I grew up playing games from Shinji Mikami, and to be here now working together is incredibly meaningful.
Shinji Mikami, CEO of UNBOUND, said:
I am very pleased to be partnering with SHIFT UP CEO Hyung-Tae Kim and all the employees. I sense strong synergy with CEO Kim, who is also an active creator, and I believe this is an ideal partnership that allows us to focus on creativity. We will do our best to create fun games so that both companies, working as one, can meet our fans’ expectations. We believe we can respect each other as creators and make games together, and I think with Hyung Tae, we can even enjoy the hard parts. Seeing my own vision and ideals come into focus like this, and finding someone whose direction aligns so closely is something I’ve rarely experienced before in my career. I hope we keep building together for a long time.
There's also an official partnership announcement video on YouTube. We've embedded it below in case you're interested in watching it.
Earlier this month, job listings unveiled that UNBOUND is working on a triple-A fantasy game, possibly powered by Unreal Engine technology. Given Shinji Mikami's background, it is likely this will be an action game, though of course, it's too early to tell for sure.
As for SHIFT UP, it was confirmed a while ago that Stellar Blade 2 will be a multiplatform release available on multiple consoles, rather than a PlayStation exclusive like the previous installment. As shown with today's acquisition, the studio is looking to establish itself as a multiplatform publisher.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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