Stellar Blade devs ‘considering’ a PC release and sequel, as next game Project Witches also eyes up PC
Flashy action-RPG Stellar Blade looks like it could be the next PlayStation 5 exclusive to find its way over to PC, as developers Shift Up say they’re pondering a PC release. They’re also thinking about a sequel – probably not much of a surprise given the first game has sold well on just the one platform, by all accounts – while working on a new game that should also be headed to PC, codenamed Project Witches.
All of this comes from Shift Up’s latest financial report, as shared by KAMI on TwiXer, where the South Korean studio note that their futuristic Nier X Sekiro action game is “exceeding expectations” in terms of sales. Bringing the current PS5 exclusive to more platforms means the chance of more sales, the report duly notes, comparing the game to both clear inspiration Nier Automata and Final Fantasy: “By releasing on various platforms, we are expanding the user base and thereby increasing the number of game users.” (Chalk any iffy wording here up to my Google translation of the Korean documents.)
The report goes on to state that “based on our experience with titles such as Destiny Child, Victory: Nikke, and Stellar Blade, we plan to create successful multi-platform solutions for future games”. It’s worth noting that both Destiny Child – Shift Up’s debut, a mobile gacha game about collecting souls to create an army of devil ladies (mostly), which was shut down last year – and Stellar Blade are yet to come to PC, whereas their – ahem – maiden-recruiting third-person shooter Goddess of Victory: Nikke released on PC last February. They certainly have an MO.
In the case of Stellar Blade’s multi-platform future, things look bright for PC as Shift Up say they are “considering producing a PC version”, along with a sequel, comparing the game’s “great potential” as a franchise to the likes of God of War and Final Fantasy. That could even include multiple Stellar Blade follow-ups, as the report points at the ambition of “a long-term revenue base through a series of high-quality sequels”.
The developers won’t just be working on a new Stellar Blade, either. Shift Up say they’ll also invest in other original IP as they head into 2025, including a new “subculture IP” currently codenamed Project Witches that will come to PC as well as console and mobile. Before you get your hopes too high for another technically polished action-RPG in the vein of Stellar Blade, though, the indication is that Project Witches will be a multi-platform gacha game more like Nikke.
“We have very high expectations for Project Witches as the next-generation mega subculture IP that will surpass Goddess of Victory: Nikke,” the studio wrote. Can’t win ‘em all, I suppose.
Anyway, divorced of the unpleasant stench that’s clung to the game from certain parts of the internet, I’ve been very impressed by my time with Stellar Blade as a tight action game that’s not quite experimental or ambitious as Nier in its existential sci-fi storytelling or a complete Soulslike in its exploration and combat, but a very solid and enjoyable meeting in the middle of both. That said, I can only pray for the content moderation teams working on mod sites if it does indeed find its way over to PC, who will no doubt have their work cut out for them.
