SHIFT UP Corporation is a South Korean video game development studio primarily known for their hits, Destiny Child and Goddess of Victory: Nikke. On April 3rd of 2019 however, they announced that they would be developing their first AAA console release, titled Stellar Blade.
History[]
SHIFT UP Corporation was founded by Kim Hyung Tae in December of 2013, following his departure from NCSoft.
On March 14, 2014, it was announced by Line Games (formerly known as Next Floor) that they had signed an investment agreement with Shift Up Corporation in order to both strengthen its strategic partnership and expand their mobile game lineup. Additionally, they revealed that the two companies would be working together on a new video game. The game would be announced on December 16, 2015, where it was revealed to be called Destiny Child, and would be a mobile gacha game. Destiny Child would be released in South Korea on October 27, 2016, with the Japanese release on November 24, 2017, and the world-wide release on December 6, 2018. In 2018, another South Korean video game developer, WeMade Entertainment, acquired a 4.23% stake in Shift Up for ₩10 billion.
Shift Up would hold a media event on April 4, 2019, titled “Crank in Showcase”, where they would announce their work on two new games. These games were Project Eve (working title) and NIKKE: The Goddess of Victory, the latter eventually being renamed Goddess of Victory: Nikke. Project Eve was announced as a AAA post-apocalyptic action RPG for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, which would be developed by the newly-created Second Eve Studio using Unreal Engine 4. NIKKE was announced as a co-op third-person shooter for Android and iOS, created using the Unity engine.
In October of the same year, Shift Up announced it would be taking over operation of Destiny Child’s Korean and overseas services, which were previously handled by Line Games, while operation of the Japanese version of the game would be handled by Shift Up’s new Japanese branch, Shift Up JP, which was founded in February, 2020.
Shift Up would publish a video game adaptation of the South Korean web novel, How Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion, on May 27, 2021. The game was developed by a Shift Up subsidiary, Studio VINO, and released on PC, Android, and iOS. To commemorate the game’s release, Shift Up sold limited edition NFTs with illustrations made by Hyung Tae himself.
In July 2022, Hyung Tae and some Shift Up executives had sold some of their shares to IMM investment and Smilegate. Two months later, on September 14, Shift Up would announce during Sony’s State of Play conference that Project Eve would now be called “Stellar Blade”, and would release exclusively on PlayStation 5 in 2023. On November 4, 2022, Goddess of Victory: Nikke would be released for Android and iOS, having been published by Level Infinite, a subsidiary of Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent Holdings ltd. At the end of the month, Nikke had generated more than 100 million USD. A Windows version of Nikke would be released on February 15, 2023. In November 2022, Shift Up would sign a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment. That December, it was announced that Tencent had acquired a 20% stake in Shift Up, making them the company’s second largest shareholder, after Hyung Tae and his associates.
In October 2023, WeMade would sell their shares to Tencent for ₩80 billion, resulting in a profit of ₩70 billion and giving Tencent an increase in their stakes in Shift Up, adding up to 24.23%. By the end of that year, Tencent would raise their stake to 40.06%, narrowing the gap with Hyung Tae and his associates, who held 45.19%. In November 2023, Shift Up announced it had signed a contract with Sony to become its first Korean second-party developer. That year, Shift Up had 292 employees, 88% of which consisted of developers.
On March 5, 2024, Shift Up filed an application to be listed in the Korean Stock Exchange, with a projected valuation $2.3 billion. The following month, on April 26, Stellar Blade was released on PlayStation 5, and by the end of the month, it was the top-selling video game in Japan and the United States. In May of that year, Shift Up confirmed that they were considering a PC port for Stellar Blade, as well as a sequel to the game. The PC port was confirmed to be in development in August. Additionally, they announced a new game was in development under the working title “Project Witches”, and would be a AAA urban sci-if action RPG. Project Witches is planned to be published in 2027 for PC, console, and mobile. On July 11, Shift Up would raise ₩435 billion during its IPO, making it the largest public offering to a video game company in South Korea since 2021, when publisher Krafton Inc. raised $3.8 billion.
Games[]
- Destiny Child
- Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion
- Goddess of Victory: Nikke
- Stellar Blade
- Project Witches (working title)