Former PlayStation president Shuhei Yoshida has credited Stellar Blade with giving Korean developers a confidence boost. Stellar Blade released last year to solid acclaim, selling over three million copies since release, and was one of the first major breakout hits for the Korean AAA games industry.
In an interview with Minimap, former PlayStation president Shuhei Yoshida talks about how Stellar Blade caught the attention of PlayStation and how the game came to be published by Sony.
"I visited Shift Up between 2019 and 2020 after hearing that an outstanding console game was being developed in Korea." Yoshida recalls, adding: "To my surprise, the new project had exceptional quality across the board-3D modeling, realism, graphics, and action. When I played it myself, it felt stylish, polished, and genuinely fun."
Yoshida says he was impressed by the way the team created their characters from physical models and transferred those to digital figures in-game, saying that one of his colleagues immediately said that "we absolutely want this game on PlayStation."
Yoshida adds that he believes "Stellar Blade represents more than just one successful title. If the game succeeds, it could inspire many other Korean developers to pursue their ambitions." He notes that the G-Star trade show and a "growing confidence among Korean creators" both "owe something to Stellar Blade's influence."
Of course, with Yoshida being involved in Stellar Blade personally, he can see the success of it more clearly. Many would argue Lies of P's success was just as instrumental in a renewed sense of confidence in the Korean games industry which is seeing a surge in AAA titles like Crimson Desert and The First Berserker: Khazan.
Stellar Blade sequel will feature an "expanded" world and "enhanced gameplay" as developer Shift Up believes it'll "result in even greater success than the original.
