Shift Up, the South Korean studio behind Stellar Blade, revealed today that global sales for the action title have exceeded 3 million copies. The PC edition contributed 1 million units to this total within its launch window of 72 hours. Steam users praised the game heavily, reflected in over 15,600 reviews with a 94% approval rating, while the title also broke Sony-published records for highest concurrent Steam players in a single-player game.

During a recent interview with This Is Game, Shift Up’s CEO Kim Hyung-tae discussed key insights about future projects. While acknowledging hopes for a Stellar Blade sequel releasing around 2027, he tempered expectations by emphasizing the team’s current focus on refining the PC port alongside early-stage R&D for the next installment.

“During DLC planning, the scope unexpectedly expanded, prompting us to pivot toward developing a full sequel,” Kim explained. “However, with resources prioritized for optimizing the PC version, substantial progress on the follow-up remains limited. We’re now exploring next-gen innovations—though three years may seem tight, we’re dedicated to delivering excellence.”

A 2027 launch would defy industry norms, given the original game’s April 2024 PS5 debut and typical AAA development cycles spanning 4+ years. Kim also addressed criticisms of Stellar Blade’s storytelling, citing production challenges that forced cuts to lore-focused content:

“Initial plans included deeper narrative elements, but ballooning costs for cutscenes led us to streamline non-critical storytelling. Korea’s ecosystem for narrative-driven games is still maturing, which impacted our execution. While retroactive fixes could disrupt existing player interpretations, future projects will prioritize richer worldbuilding.”