SHIFT UP is currently in the midst of promoting Stellar Blade, which will debut in less than 2 weeks. Ahead of the big event, the South Korean company received a visit from one of the heads of PlayStation, leading many to speculate about a possible alliance.
Over the weekend, the head of Sony Interactive Entertainment's Independent Developer Initiative, Shuhei Yoshida, caught attention by posting a picture indicating his visit to SHIFT UP, whose offices are located in Seoul, South Korea.
In the picture, the PlayStation executive appears alongside the founder and head of SHIFT UP, Kim Hyung Tae, and his wife and also artist Jiyun Chae.
What's curious is that this comes just days after SHIFT UP announced it would no longer be a private company and revealed the development of an undisclosed project, one of its features being its release on PC and consoles.
Could SHIFT UP Be Cooking Up a Project with PlayStation?
Interestingly, the photograph shows a screen where Hindenburg, a character from Azur Lane, can be seen, leading some to speculate that SHIFT UP is hinting at a possible collaboration with this other mobile title.
Another curiosity in the photograph is that Chae is seen carrying a pad with the design of Christmas Doro, a character born as a meme based on the game's Nikke called Dorothy, which the community has essentially adopted as a mascot and has transcended into other gacha and mobile gaming communities. Could SHIFT UP be hinting at a possible port of NIKKE for PlayStation or at least official Doro merchandise?
Aside from these curiosities, the photograph apparently doesn't include anything related to Stellar Blade, GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE, or any other project from SHIFT UP.
That said, although it's common for Yoshida to frequently travel to visit independent studios and forge support and exclusivity alliances, the reason for this particular visit is unknown, so it shouldn't be assumed that PlayStation is already trying to ensure that SHIFT UP's next project reaches its consoles.
We'll keep you updated.
Do you think SHIFT UP's next game will be a PlayStation exclusive on consoles? Let us know in the comments.
Stellar Blade will debut on April 26, 2024, exclusively for PlayStation 5.
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