Stellar Blade Developer SHIFT UP Acquires Shinji Mikami's UNBOUND Studio

An unexpected partnership.

UNBOUND, a studio led by Shinji Mikami, the founder of Tango Gameworks and Resident Evil director, woke up after a long period of silence and decided to take over the news with announcements.

In a blog post, complete with an epic video, Stellar Blade developer SHIFT UP announced its acquisition of UNBOUND. SHIFT UP plans to directly handle the publishing of UNBOUND's upcoming games and "gradually build its own global service capabilities."

SHIFT UP CEO Hyung-Tae Kim stated, “I find it deeply meaningful to join forces with UNBOUND, which brings together a world-class development team led by CEO Shinji Mikami,” adding, “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.”

Shinji Mikami, CEO of UNBOUND, said, “I am very pleased to be partnering with SHIFT UP CEO Hyung-Tae Kim and all the employees.” He continued, “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.”

In March, UNBOUND revealed that it is working on an "original IP project," a "AAA title for high-end consumers."

SHIFT UP

"Even though I get joked with a lot, it creates a space where it’s easier to speak. And believe it or not, I actually really like that. Working with these genuinely young people is a lot of fun. It makes me excited to see the next generation creating new and exciting games. This is what I look forward to the most now," Mikami said in the video announcement.

Together with SHIFT UP, the team will create a "masterpiece of a game." Part of this masterpiece is seemingly a many-winged creature that you can see in the video.

SHIFT UP

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