Shift Up is preparing for a significant transition. The South Korean studio is planning to go public on the Korean Stock Exchange. The Stellar Blade developers are aiming to ride high on the success of its mobile title, Goddess of Victory: Nikke and the buzz surrounding its upcoming console debut.
As per Game World Observer, the studio filed the application on March 5, with plans to list over 58 million shares. Of these, 7.25 million shares are earmarked for sale, with a par value of ₩200 ($0.15) each. A consortium of financial giants lead the IPO, including Korea Investment & Securities, NH Investment & Securities, and JP Morgan Securities’ Seoul branch. Industry experts have pegged the company’s valuation at approximately ₩3 trillion ($2.3 billion), up from its previous valuation of ₩2 trillion ($1.5 billion), as per GameLook.
Goddess of Victory: Nikke, a gacha-based action mobile title that prominently features female characters, has been a financial boon for Shift Up, surpassing $600 million in its player spending. The game’s success in key markets such as Japan, the United States, and South Korea has positioned Shift Up as a formidable player in the mobile gaming arena. The hype surrounding Stellar Blade has further fueled expectations for the studio’s continued growth and innovation.
At the helm of Shift Up is CEO and co-founder Kim Hyung-tae. He currently retains a 45% ownership stake in the company. Hyung-tae’s leadership has been instrumental in guiding the studio from its early days to its current stature. The involvement of Tencent, the Chinese gaming giant, as the second-largest shareholder with a 24% stake, has also played a critical role in Shift Up’s expansion and strategic direction.
While this route is a natural progression for a company poised for further success, the pressures of pleasing shareholders are drawing concerns about their potential impact on the studio’s creative direction and consumer-friendly practices. Fans of Nikke fear that the generosity in gacha tickets and the game’s distinct fan service could be tempered in the pursuit of profitability.
On the plus side, Shift Up’s stock price will rise with the release of Stellar Blade, which is currently going viral due to its pulled demo and NSFW skin suit.
While Sony isn’t expected to make a play for Shift Up, it’s possible that it could buy into the company with a significant ownership stake if it already hasn’t. This would be similar to what Sony did with FromSoftware’s parent company, Kadokawa Corporation.
Sony has a history of either buying into or purchasing close partners, which, in the past few years, has included Insomniac Games, Housemarque, Bluepoint Games, and Nixxes Software.
