Stellar Blade was wildly successful in 2024, having sold one million copies in just its first two months on the market, so developer Shift Up had no choice but to reward all of its employees with an approximately $3,400 bonus and the coveted PS5 Pro.
Shift Up doled out the presents at a January 6 event in Seoul, as Korean website Naver reported. A company representative told the site - according to a DeepL translation - that "the payment of plusses and bonuses is a way to encourage talent," and, indeed, you can witness the majesty of this exchange yourself in a video Shift Up posted to Twitter.
We had our SHIFTUP New Year's event today. Everyone got a PS5Pro so you can enjoy Stellar Blade in 4K, right?Oh, and there's a glimpse of Lily and Eve...💕#StellarBlade #SHIFTUP #HappyNewYear pic.twitter.com/VihP4Qhnr1January 6, 2025
Employees in their puffy winter jackets awkwardly grab bags stuffed with PlayStation's latest console before shuffling off to the convention center's exits. OK, fine, it's not as magisterial as the apocalyptic Stellar Blade's green wastelands, but it's still something.
What's even more impressive, though, is the fact that Stellar Blade crushed 2024 so hard when it isn't even out on PC yet; it'll come to PC later in 2025.
There were a few minor incidents in the middle of the event, but it all ended well...🆗#PS5Pro #SHIFTUP pic.twitter.com/3yQPTLk6odJanuary 6, 2025
Nonetheless, the PS5 game enjoyed overwhelmingly positive reviews, with our own review recognizing Stellar Blade's stylish melee combat. The game was also nominated for Best Action Game and Best Score at The Game Awards, with the most loyal of its player base bemoaning the fact that it didn't receive a nomination for Game of the Year, too. I mean, have you seen the size of protagonist Eve's, um, legendary combos?
