Stellar Blade Dev Reportedly Looking to Go Independent From Sony

Stellar Blade developer Shift Up could be considering a move toward independence from Sony. Stellar Blade became one of the biggest PlayStation releases in 2024 and sold more than a million copies within just two months of its launch on the platform. Players were fascinated by its unique sci-fi world, where they stepped into the shoes of Eve and fought to reclaim a post-apocalyptic Earth from alien creatures known as the Naytiba.

However, Stellar Blade‘s journey did not end there. Shift Up eventually brought Stellar Blade to PC, where it proved to be a massive hit yet again, selling more than a million copies in just a few days. This positioned the game as one of the most successful PlayStation exclusives to ever arrive on PC at the time. After its strong performance, reports suggested that Shift Up is now exploring plans to expand it beyond PS5 and PC to a wider audience. Fans believed that the developer was aiming to step away from the PlayStation umbrella, and now it seems like that move could finally be unfolding.

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Stellar Blade Developer Might Become Independent Soon

Shift Up has reportedly revealed new plans, as spotted by GameMeca, that will help the studio expand its position as a full-fledged game publisher. The studio says that it is gearing up for a major push in the international market and aims to expand its self-publishing capabilities to better support its games across consoles and PC. To support this transition, the company is actively hiring a range of new positions in areas such as marketing, PR, and localization. With these steps, Shift Up seems to be preparing itself to move beyond Sony’s publishing support, which handled the release of Stellar Blade.

Currently, Shift Up is working on the Stellar Blade sequel, which was first revealed back in May 2025. So far, the developer hasn’t released any details on the game or what players can expect to see in terms of the narrative, characters, and features. However, a recent earnings report from Shift Up has confirmed that development on the project is progressing in a well-structured manner, and it is evaluating plans to reveal more details soon. The expected launch window for the game is before 2027, and as things stand, the title still does not have a publisher officially attached to it.

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If Shift Up is trying to expand its position as a self-publisher, there’s a chance that the studio might choose to handle the publishing duties for the Stellar Blade sequel itself. Players believe that this could be a positive step for the company, as becoming independent would enable Shift Up to launch its upcoming titles on Xbox, PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo platforms simultaneously, without any delays or third-party influence. When companies like Sony finance a project, they also tend to claim a portion of the revenue and can influence certain publishing choices. Going independent would allow Shift Up to have better control over the profit margins and, most importantly, have full control over the future of its IP.

Recent reports have also suggested that Sony’s approach to first-party game ports on PC might be changing, with claims that the company could scale back that strategy and return to console exclusives. Sony reportedly is unsure about the overall success of PC releases and believes that they did not meet expectations. In such a case, many players feel it would only make sense for Shift Up to take control of its publishing efforts and distribute its games across various platforms without facing any challenges or limitations from Sony.