Shift Up says Stellar Blade and Lies of P helped Korean studios take on bigger console games
Technical director Dong-ki Lee compared their influence with Black Myth: Wukong's effect on China's game industry and pointed to Crimson Desert as another Korean example.
Stellar Blade and Lies of P helped convince more Korean developers to take on console projects, according to Shift Up technical director Dong-ki Lee. Their success has given Korea’s studios a stronger case for building full-scale games for consoles and PC alongside the mobile and online titles that have long dominated the country’s market.
Lee discussed the trend in a GamesRadar+ interview at Gamescom 2026 after Shift Up revealed Stellar Blade: Blood Rain. “Games like ours, and also Lies of P, those kinds of games came out in Korea and that really made developers in Korea go take up the challenge for console games more,” he said. “And we have Crimson Desert now as well, so they’re having all this influence on each other, so that’s really good.”
Korean console development has more examples to point to
Lee likened Stellar Blade and Lies of P to the effect that Genshin Impact and Black Myth: Wukong had on China’s games industry. In both cases, successful games have helped show that local studios can reach audiences with large console and PC projects, not only mobile or online releases.
Crimson Desert now gives Korea another high-profile example. The game joins Stellar Blade and Lies of P among Korean-developed releases drawing attention to console development. Both games also have follow-up projects in progress, while Shift Up has said its other “AAA-class” project, Project Spirits, is due for a reveal later in 2026.
Shift Up’s mobile business remains central to that strategy. The studio continues to maintain Goddess of Victory: Nikke, a successful mobile game and a key source of revenue. Stellar Blade’s console and PC success sits alongside that business, showing how the company is supporting different kinds of games rather than moving away from one market entirely.
Stellar Blade’s Switch 2 version gets its first public showing
The studio is also using the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 edition to apply its PlayStation 5 and PC development experience to another major platform. Lee said Shift Up wanted to showcase the skills and know-how gained on those versions, and he singled out The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as one of his favorite games while discussing his excitement about bringing Stellar Blade to Switch 2.
The upcoming Switch 2 port of Stellar Blade will be publicly playable for the first time at Tokyo Game Show 2026 in September 2026. The event will give players their first chance to see how the action game has been adapted for Nintendo’s hardware.
Stellar Blade’s next projects and the wider growth of Korean console development are now moving in parallel. Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, Telegram.
