Shift Up CEO says generative AI could expand Stellar Blade 2 output

Kotaku reports Shift Up CEO Hyung-tae Kim said during the "2026 Economic Growth Strategy" conference on January 9 — attended by President Lee Jae Myung — that generative AI might be used as the studio develops Stellar Blade 2, and argued that with AI "one person can perform the work of 100 people."

Kim said the studio devotes around 150 people to a single game while China puts in between 1,000 to 2,000, and that they "lack the capacity to compete, both in terms of quality and volume of content," according to GameMeca (translated via Automaton). He suggested generative AI and LLM tools will be important to even the playing field and said this approach should not mean mass layoffs because global competition will still require using every possible worker.

Stellar Blade sold millions of copies across console and PC without AI, and Seoul Economic Daily reported Shift Up recently gave all 300 employees AirPods Max, Apple Watches and a $3,400 bonus after a profitable 2025. Shift Up is aiming to release Stellar Blade 2 before the end of 2027; whether generative AI will be used in its development remains unclear.

Key Topics

Tech, Shift Up, Hyung-tae Kim, Generative Ai, Llm, China