Stellar Blade and Nikke developer Shift Up reports 516% operating profit growth in 2023

Shift Up has shared its 2023 financial results. The South Korean developer experienced significant increases in annual revenue and profit.

Stellar Blade

• According to its financial statement, Shift Up reached ₩168.6 billion ($125 million) in operating revenue last year, up 154.5% year-over-year.
• Operating profit increased by 516% year-over-year to ₩111 billion ($82.4 million).
• Net profit was ₩106.9 billion ($79 million), compared to a net loss of ₩7.1 billion ($5.3 million) in 2022.
• Royalty sales accounted for the lion share of Shift Up’s revenue, or ₩164.4 billion ($122 million). Here is how the studio defines this item: “According to the company’s contract with its partners, it grants access to intellectual property and receives compensation based on a certain percentage.”
• As pointed out by Korean outlet GameMeca, this is likely the money received for the studio’s biggest hit, Goddess of Victory: Nikke, which is published by Tencent’s subsidiary Level Infinite.
• Shift Up’s self-published titles generated ₩3.98 billion ($3 million) in revenue last year, down 61% year-over-year. The decrease was due to the shutdown of its mobile battler Destiny Child.
• Most of its annual sales came from overseas, with South Korea accounting for only ₩1.28 billion ($951k) of the total. Asia is the number one region by revenue with a 98.5% share ($123 million), followed by America (0.5%, $849k) and Europe (0.08%, $104.5k).

Last month, Shift Up also filed an IPO application to list its shares on the Korea Stock Exchange. According to analysts’ projections, the company’s valuation could reach ₩3 trillion ($2.3 billion) after going public.

Best known for its free-to-play titles, the studio is now gearing up for the launch of its premium console game Stellar Blade. The demo went live on March 29, generating a lot of hype among PS5 players, and the full game will come out on April 26.