SHIFT UP, the Korean developer responsible for 2024’s well-received Stellar Blade, has announced that it’s entered a publishing partnership with UNBOUND, the Tokyo studio founded and led by Resident Evil and The Evil Within creator, Shinji Mikami.
With this new acquisition, SHIFT UP will support and publish future UNBOUND titles
“I find it deeply meaningful to join forces with UNBOUND, which brings together a world-class development team led by CEO Shinji Mikami,” writes SHIFT UP’s CEO, Hyung-Tae Kim, in an accompanying blog post. “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,” he adds. “And to be here now working together is incredibly meaningful.”
Mikami says in the same post, “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.”
UNBOUND is currently working on at least one title, with Mikami working as creator and producer on the “fairly large” project, which SHIFT UP’s Kim says showcases the studio’s unique charm.
Take a look at a special partnership announcement video from the two studios and leaders, with some neat insights into UNBOUND, below: