Shift Up estimates that Stellar Blade sold over 1 million copies, generating $15.8 million in royalties
Shift Up has revealed the first data on its recent PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade. The South Korean company considers the game successful based on its commercial performance.
During a press conference regarding its upcoming IPO, Shift Up announced that it estimates the sales of Stellar Blade at more than 1 million copies since its launch on April 26.
It is worth noting that Sony hasn’t yet disclosed any official figures for the game, so Shift Up’s data may slightly differ from the actual results. According to GameMeca, CFO Ahn Jae-woo called the launch of this new IP “smooth.”
In its stock report, Shift Up noted that Stellar Blade posted revenues of ₩6.3 billion ($4.5 million in April and ₩15.7 billion ($11.3 million) in May. This means Sony has paid the studio ₩22 billion ($15.8 million) in royalties so far.
Stellar Blade received positive reviews from critics and players, also holding an average user score of 9.2/10 on Metacritic — the highest of any PlayStation 5 game. It also topped the charts in major console markets such as the US and UK.
Shift Up considers making a PC version of Stellar Blade, but can’t share any details due to contractual obligations with Sony. According to Ahn Jae-woo, the “main consumer base for AAA games is moving to PC,” and the studio hopes to increase the value of its new IP after bringing it to the platform.
With Stellar Blade, the company wanted to establish a new brand that can create value in the long term and attract audiences from around the world. “In this process, for the sake of brand value, we minimized aspects that users might find objectionable, such as microtransactions,” CEO Kim Hyung-tae said.
Earlier this month, Shift Up postponed its IPO in the wake of concerns from South Korean financial authorities. Some experts were worried that the company’s financial future depends on a single game — Goddess of Victory: Nikke, which accounted for nearly 98% of its total revenue last year.
