Summary

  • Shift Up, known for Stellar Blade, revealed a look at Project Spirits, a new game from the studio.
  • Project Spirits is a flagship game and a new IP with open-world exploration and RPG elements.
  • Shift Up also plans a sequel to Stellar Blade and hints at Project Spirits potentially being a gacha game, potentially releasing before 2027.

Stellar Blade's developer Shift Up has unveiled a new upcoming game, titled Project Spirits, through its website. Following Stellar Blade's success in 2024, Shift Up has emerged as one of the more promising studios in Asia.

In an impressive achievement last year, Shift Up struck gold with its first-ever console release, Stellar Blade. The former PlayStation exclusive not only garnered remarkable scores from critics but also gained popularity among players, selling over a million copies in less than two months of release. In the time since then, Shift Up devs have consistently delivered free skins and other updates to sustain the appeal of the sci-fi title post launch. After months of rumors, Stellar Blade's PC port was finally announced in May 2025, alongside a release date of June 11, which is the same day the game's Complete Edition for PC and PS5 also becomes available. Besides that announcement, it turns out that the Korean studio had another update in its bag, which has now been revealed for the world to see.

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Shift Up devs shared new information about Project Spirits, including a glimpse at its characters, on the studio's official website. As translated via Google, the in-development project is described as a "subcultural" game, playable across different platforms, that pushes the envelope for "Eastern Fantasy." It also labels Project Spirits, which was named Project Witches before, as a "flagship" game and a new IP for the studio after Stellar Blade and Goddess of Victory: Nikke. There is also a single picture depicting two of the forthcoming game's characters, one of them equipped with a sheathed sword, and what looks like traditional Korean houses in the background. Moreover, there is a link that leads to job listings for Project Spirits, shining light on some additional aspects, such as the game's narrative-driven approach, open-world exploration, RPG elements, and a possible focus on martial arts. Interestingly, the jobs also lay down a preference for players of certain games, including Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, and Shift Up's own Nikke game, suggesting that its next project may borrow a thing or two from these titles.

Shift Up Reveals Project Spirits is in Development

project spirits characters shift up-1

The latest news from the Stellar Blade developer is certainly exciting, and the lack of details at the moment has given rise to speculation. Among such early guesses, a prominent one circling the community talks about Project Spirits being a gacha game, similar to Destiny Child, whose support was terminated by the studio in 2023. Whether that statement holds true or not could be established within a year's time, given that the game recently appeared on Shift Up's company presentation with a release planned for before 2027.

Besides Project Spirits, Shift Up is also quietly working on expanding the Stellar Blade brand with a sequel, scheduled to roll out by 2026. Moreover, judging by the studio's aforementioned presentation, it would appear that the follow-up to the highly popular hack-and-slash game could be out before the only other game known to be in development at the company does.

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9 /10

Stellar Blade
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Action RPG
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1
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Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 81%
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Released
April 26, 2024
ESRB
M for Mature
Developer(s)
Shift Up
Publisher(s)
Sony Interactive Entertainment
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5 Images
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Stellar Blade sells over 1 million copies on PC days after its PC debut
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WHERE TO PLAY

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RECLAIM EARTH FOR HUMANKIND The future of humanity hangs in the balance in Stellar Blade, an all-new story-driven action adventure. Ravaged by strange, powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of the decimated human race has fled to a Colony in outer space. After travelling from the Colony, 7th Airborne Squad member EVE arrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a clear-cut mission: to save humankind by reclaiming Earth from the Naytiba – the malevolent force that has devastated it. But as EVE tackles the Naytiba one-by-one, piecing together the mysteries of the past in the ruins of human civilization, she realizes that her mission is far from straightforward. In fact, almost nothing is as it seems…

Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Genre(s)
Action RPG
Platform(s)
PC, PS5
OpenCritic Rating
Strong
PS Plus Availability
N/A