Wikipedia

Shift Up

The Shift Up Corporation (Korean: 시프트업), stylized as SHIFT UP, is a South Korean video game developer and publisher. It was founded on December 2, 2013 by Kim Hyung Tae and is best known for the games Goddess of Victory: Nikke and Stellar Blade.

Shift Up corporation
Company typePublic
KRX: 462870
IndustryVideo games
FoundedDecember 2, 2013; 10 years ago (December 2, 2013)[1]
FoundersKim Hyung Tae
Headquarters
Seoul
,
South Korea
Key people
Products
Number of employees
300[3] (August 2024)
Websiteshiftup.co.kr

History

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Shift Up Corporation was founded in December 2013 by Kim Hyung Tae after leaving NCSoft, where he worked most recently as art director on Blade & Soul.[4][5]

On March 14, 2014, Next Floor (now Line Games) announced that it had signed an investment agreement with Shift Up, to strengthen its strategic partnership and expand its global mobile game lineup. It was also announced that the two developers would collaborate on a video game.[6] On December 16, 2015, it was announced that the game would be called Destiny Child and that it would be a gacha role playing game.[7] The game was first released in South Korea for Android and iOS on October 27, 2016.[8] On November 24, 2017, the game was released in Japan.[9] The world-wide release was on December 6, 2018.[10] In 2018, WeMade Entertainment, another South Korean video game developer, acquired a 4.23% stake in Shift Up for ₩10 billion.[11]

On April 4, 2019, Shift Up held a media event titled "Crank in Showcase". Two games were revealed here, Project Eve (working title) and NIKKE: The Goddess of Victory (later renamed to Goddess of Victory: Nikke). Project Eve was announced as AAA post-apocalyptic action RPG for PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. The game would be developed by the newly created Second Eve Studio using the Unreal Engine 4. Nikke was presented as online coop third-person shooter for Android and iOS developed with the Unity game engine.[12][13][14]

On October 20, 2019, it was announced that Shift Up would take over the operation of the Korean and overseas services of Destiny Child.[15] This was previously handled by Line Games. For the operation of the Japanese version, a new Japanese branch, Shift Up JP, was established in Japan in February 2020.[16]

On May 27, 2021, Shift Up published a video game adaptation of South Korean web novel Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion. The game was developed by Studio VINO, a subsidiary of Shift Up, and released on PC, Android and iOS.[17][18][19] To commemorate the release of the game, Shift Up sold limited edition NFTs with illustrations by Hyung Tae.[20][21]

In July 2022, Hyung Tae and a few other executives of Shift Up had sold some of their shares to IMM investment and Smilegate.[22][23] During Sony's State of the Play conference on September 14, 2022, Shift Up announced that Project Eve would actually be called Stellar Blade and that it would be released exclusively for Playstation 5 in 2023.[24][25][26] On November 4, 2022, Nikke was released on Android and iOS, published by Level Infinite, a subsidiary of Tencent.[27] A Windows version of the game was released on February 15, 2023.[28] At the end of the month, Nikke had already generated a revenue of more than US$100 million.[29][30] In November 2022, Shift Up signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment.[31][32] In December, it was announced that Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent had acquired a 20% stake in Shift Up, which made them the second largest shareholder after Kim Hyung Tae and his associates.[33][34][35]

In October 2023, WeMade sold their shares to Tencent for nearly ₩80 billion, resulting in a profit of nearly ₩70 billion.[11][36] This transaction resulted in an increase of Tencent's stake in Shift Up to 24.23%. By the end of 2023, Tencent had raised their stake to 40.06%, significantly narrowing the gap with Hyung Tae and his associates, who owned 45.19%.[37] In November 2023, it was revealed that Shift Up signed a contract to become Sony's first Korean second-party developer.[38][39] In 2023, the company had 292 employees, of which 88% percent were developers.[40]

On March 5, 2024, Shift Up filed an application to be listed on the Korean Stock Exchange with a projected valuation of $2.3 billion.[41][1] In April, Stellar Blade was released and at the end of the month it was the top selling video game in Japan and the USA.[42][43][44] In May, it was confirmed that Shift Up was considering a PC version and a sequel of Stellar Blade.[45] Development of a PC port was confirmed in August.[46] It was also revealed that a new "AAA urban sci-fi action RPG", codenamed Project Witches, was being developed. On July 11, Shift Up raised ₩435 billion during its IPO.[47][48] This was the largest public offering for a video game company in South Korea since 2021, when Krafton raised $3.8 billion.

Games developed

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Year Title Platform Publisher
2016 Destiny Child Android, iOS Line Games
2021 Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion Windows, Android, iOS Shift Up
2022 Goddess of Victory: Nikke Android, iOS, Windows Level Infinite
2024 Stellar Blade PlayStation 5 Sony Interactive Entertainment
TBA Project Witches (working title) TBA TBA

References

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  1. ^ a b "시프트업". krx.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Corporate Governance". shiftup.co.kr. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "Shift Up Co., Ltd". saramin.co.kr. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  4. ^ Custer, C. (January 10, 2014). "Blade & Soul art director Kim Hyung Tae leaves NCSoft". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Pacheco, Filipe; Lee, Youkyung (July 11, 2024). "Game Maker Shift Up Jumps in South Korea After $320 Million IPO". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  6. ^ 박, 철현 (March 14, 2014). "드래곤플라이트의 넥스트플로어, 김형태와 공동 신작 개발 착수". IT조선 (in Korean). Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  7. ^ "게임트릭스 - PC방 게임전문 리서치 서비스!". www.gametrics.com (in Korean). December 16, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Chelen, Matt (October 27, 2016). "Destiny Child Launches On Android And iOS In South Korea". MMOs.com. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  9. ^ "スマホ版「デスティニーチャイルド」，サービス開始に先駆けてアプリの先行ダウンロードが開始。事前登録者数は150万人を突破". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). November 22, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  10. ^ Altay, Omer (November 27, 2018). "Busty Mobile CCG Destiny Child Launching In December, Pre-Registrations Open (Launched Dec 6)". MMOs.com. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  11. ^ a b 편, 지수 (October 24, 2023). "위메이드, 시프트업 주식 매각해 700억원 차익". 비즈니스워치 (in Korean). Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  12. ^ "キム・ヒョンテ氏率いるSHIFT UPが2つの新作を韓国で発表。PC＆コンシューマ機向け「Project EVE」とスマホ向け「NIKKE」". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). April 5, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  13. ^ "Shift Up - Destiny Child developer reveals 2 new games for global market". MMO Culture. April 4, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  14. ^ Agossah, Iyane (April 8, 2019). "Shift Up Announces Project Eve and Nikke the Goddess of Victory with First Trailers". DualShockers. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  15. ^ "라인게임즈 '데스티니 차일드', 시프트업으로 서비스 이관". 뉴데일리 (in Korean). September 20, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "『デスチャ』のシフトアップが日本支社を設立。国内サービスにおける支援を行う体制をより強固に構築 | ファミ通App【スマホゲーム情報サイト】". ファミ通App (in Japanese). February 21, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  17. ^ "시프트업, '그녀가 공작저로 가야했던 사정' 출시". 미래를 보는 신문 - 전자신문 (in Korean). May 28, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  18. ^ "시프트업, 첫 스토리 게임 '그공사' 모바일앱마켓·스팀 출시 - 매일경제 게임진". Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  19. ^ "SHIFT UPがインタラクティブストーリーゲーム「彼女が公爵邸に行った理由」をSteam/iOS/Android向けに配信". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). June 1, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  20. ^ "시프트업, 신작게임 '그.공.사'에 NFT 적용한 디지털 한정판 발행". 테크M (in Korean). May 31, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  21. ^ "WEMIX NFT Auction Now Open — Token Giveaway Event Launched, World-first Live Commerce Coming Up Next Week". medium.com. July 8, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  22. ^ 김, 건우 (July 8, 2022). "만화가 꿈꾸던 게임 작화가의 변신...9년만에 1조 유니콘 CEO 됐다". Money Today [ko] (in Korean). Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  23. ^ "위메이드, 시프트업 주식 매각해 700억원 차익". 비즈니스워치 (in Korean). October 24, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  24. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (September 13, 2022). "ShiftUp's Project Eve is now Stellar Blade, still has shiny suits and gross monsters". Polygon. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  25. ^ Moyse, Chris (September 13, 2022). "Project EVE is now Stellar Blade, coming exclusively to PS5 in 2023". Destructoid. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  26. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (September 13, 2022). "Project Eve Gets a New Title, 2023 Release Window". IGN. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  27. ^ Liu, Stephanie (November 4, 2022). "Goddess of Victory Nikke Launches for Mobile Worldwide". Siliconera. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  28. ^ Bernasibo, Dave (February 15, 2023). "NIKKE to launch Chainsaw Man event, PC release". inquirer.net. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  29. ^ 윤, 선훈 (December 13, 2022). "'승리의 여신: 니케', 출시 1개월만에 글로벌 매출 1억 달러 달성". Aju Business Daily (in Korean). Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  30. ^ "『勝利の女神:NIKKE』、11月収益は1億ドル(132億円)で世界4位 日本が最大収益 『原神』は1億7000万ドル(224億円)で2位に SensorTower調査 | gamebiz". gamebiz【ゲームビズ】 (in Japanese). Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  31. ^ 조, 성호 (November 22, 2022). "사우디 '빈 살만'이 게임사 시프트업 주목한 이유". 민주신문 (in Korean). Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  32. ^ "キム・ヒョンテ氏率いるSHIFT UPとサウジアラビア投資省が包括的な事業協力に基本合意。中東地域に本格進出を模索". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). November 25, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  33. ^ "中 텐센트, 시프트업 2대 주주 등극". 더게임스데일리 (in Korean). December 15, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  34. ^ "[단독]텐센트, 시프트업 지분 20% 취득...'승리의 여신' 미소짓다". news.mtn.co.kr (in Korean). December 15, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  35. ^ "Tencent，「NIKKE」開発のSHIFT UPの株式を20％取得――出資比率は創業者キム・ヒョンテ氏に次ぐ第2位に". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  36. ^ Semenov, Alexander (October 30, 2023). "Market value of Goddess of Victory: NIKKE developer Shift Up increased eightfold over past five years". Game World Observer. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  37. ^ "'3조원 대어' 시프트업 상장땐 中텐센트 수천억 돈방석". The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). May 10, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  38. ^ Barker, Sammy (November 28, 2023). "Stellar Blade PS5 Dev Shift Up Allegedly Signs on As Sony Second-Party". Push Square. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  39. ^ Wutz, Marco (November 24, 2023). "Sony reportedly moves closer to Stellar Blade, Nikke developer Shift Up". Video Games on Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  40. ^ Joon-hyun, Moon (August 4, 2024). "[KH Explains] Shift Up shakes up Korean gaming industry with agility". The Korea Herald.
  41. ^ Obedkov, Evgeny (March 11, 2024). "Stellar Blade developer Shift Up to go public at projected valuation of $2.3 billion". Game World Observer. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  42. ^ "2024年4月のソフト・ハード売上ランキングが公開。『ステラーブレイド』が首位を獲得。『百英雄伝』Switch/PS5/PS4合計で6.5万本と好スタートを記録 | ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). May 10, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  43. ^ Tassi, Paul (May 30, 2024). "PS5's 'Stellar Blade' Topped Sales Charts In April, A Wild Achievement For Many Reasons". Forbes. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  44. ^ Lyles, Taylor (May 29, 2024). "Stellar Blade Tops April Charts, But It's the Lowest Sales to Lead an April Since Prototype 2". IGN. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  45. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (May 28, 2024). "Stellar Blade Developer Shift Up Considering a Sequel". IGN. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  46. ^ Nelson, Will (August 20, 2024). "After months of waiting, the Stellar Blade PC port is finally coming in the "near future"". PCGamesN.
  47. ^ Pacheco, Filipe; Lee, Youkyung (July 10, 2024). "Game Maker Shift Up Jumps in South Korea After $320 Million IPO". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  48. ^ Obedkov, Evgeny (July 12, 2024). "Shift Up raises $320 million in IPO, largest for game company in South Korea since Krafton". Game World Observer. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
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