Following yesterday's tease, it has been confirmed that Stellar Blade developer Shift Up has acquired Unbound, the new studio set up by horror veteran Shinji Mikami. Games from Unbound will now be published by Shift Up, and the team is already hard at work on its first project for consoles and PC.

The vision for the buyout was to unite two video game creators under one roof: Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, The Evil Within) and Hyung Tae Kim (Goddess of Victory: Nikke). According to the company's blog post, what brings the two together is "a shared conviction that strong creative direction and high-quality execution go hand in hand".

Mikami added: "We believe we can respect each other as creators and make games together. And I think with Hyung Tae, we can even enjoy the hard parts.” He goes further: “Seeing my own vision and ideals come into focus like this, and finding someone whose direction aligns so closely is something I’ve rarely experienced before in my career. I hope we keep building together for a long time."

Hyung Tae Kim then said: "I find it deeply meaningful to join forces with UNBOUND, which brings together a world-class development team led by CEO Shinji Mikami. This acquisition will serve as an opportunity to deliver the best gaming experience to users worldwide and further solidify SHIFT UP’s global development competitiveness."

Prior to the company purchase, the game Unbound is working on was described as "AAA quality and AA content, which is why we’re creating a title that offers a rich gaming experience and allows you to be completely immersed in its world". It's a new IP made in Unreal Engine 5 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

It's not yet known if today's news will grant Unbound a bigger budget and resources, or if it'll stick to its original vision of creating smaller-scale titles.

Are you excited by this news? Share your initial thoughts in the comments below.

[source shiftup.co.kr]