The potential PlayStation exclusivity of the next Stellar Blade game is in question as publisher and developer Shift Up reveals its intention to self-publish the next game – rather than have Sony do it – and have it “reach a broad global audience from day one”.
In Shift Up’s Q1 2026 company report, the company said development of the next Stellar Blade is “progressing smoothly” and is “on track to meet our targeted quality standards”. The company also said it would shift to a first-party service model, which appears to be its parlance for self-publishing.
“This will allow us to lead marketing strategies that fully reflect the distinctive identity of the Stellar Blade IP, and we expect to communicate the unique appeal of its universe to players more directly and effectively,” Shift UP said. “Building on the strong fandom and evergreen IP status established by the first Stellar Blade, we are formulating an optimal go-to-market strategy designed to maximise sales and reach a broad global audience from day one.
“With three key tailwinds – high-quality self-publishing capabilities, a sales maximisation strategy, and a proven IP fanbase – we are confident the next title will deliver meaningfully improved results compared to its predecessor.”
While the report doesn’t explicitly state that the next Stellar Blade will skip PS5 exclusivity, the original game’s success on PC, coupled with the company’s expressed interest in Xbox and Switch 2, suggests things are heading that way. Shift Up’s said details on the next Stellar Blade game will be “revealed within the year” (this could mean the financial year).
Shift Up’s report also highlights the game by Shinji Mikami’s new studio Unbound, which it recently acquired; it’s also described as a “first-party service” or self-published game.
Stellar Blade was released in spring 2024, and its stylish blend of hack-and-slash-like action adventure proved to be a hit. “Stellar Blade has a fair bit of weirdness, but its killer tunes and vibey, flow-state combat – plus a transformative hard mode – are enough to leave you entranced,” we wrote in our four-star Stellar Blade review.
