Shift Up CEO Hyung-Tae Kim says the upcoming Stellar Blade 2 won't be shown at all until it's in a good state.
Speaking to 4Gamer (via TheGamer), Kim explained, "there are always times when it looks like nothing is happening from the outside," as, aside from acknowledging the game exists, ShiftUp hasn't actually said anything about the sequel to its 2024 breakout hit. So, obviously, there's a camp wondering what's going on with it because nothing has been shown yet, but Kim assures that that's exactly the plan.
"Our team is currently working very passionately on the production," He explains, adding, "we would like to present it once it has reached a satisfactory quality. Rather than sharing it prematurely, we believe it is best to inform everyone once everything is fully prepared." Kim also told the interviewer that "the time has come when you can have a little bit of expectation," seemingly hinting that the game could be shown sometime this year.
And while "we're not showing the game until it's ready to be shown" does feel like a bit of a no-brainer, we're in an era where games are sometimes shown years in advance. Stellar Blade publisher Sony is one of the worst offenders with the likes of The Last of Us 2, Marvel's Wolverine, and Marathon having extremely long reveal-to-release. Even publishers like Capcom, which has been announcing Resident Evil titles with less than a year's lead time, have a Pragmata every so often. And need I say more than The Elder Scrolls 6?
My only hope is that the massive success of Stellar Blade doesn't stop the developers from improving on the flaws the original had – namely, the bland characters and storytelling – although with talk of an expanded world, it may not be one for me, given I much preferred the linear areas found in the game.
