Shift Up, Known for Stellar Blade, Acquires Unbound Studio of Resident Evil Creator

Key Takeaways

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Shift Up acquires Unbound Studio, founded by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, demonstrating a commitment to growth and diversification in the AAA segment on PC and consoles.
Unbound Studio is currently developing an AAA action RPG using Unreal Engine 5 for global release, aiming to expand its team from 53 to 150 employees.
Shift Up will take charge of publishing Unbounds upcoming games and expanding its global services following the success of Stellar Blade in partnership with Sony.
Shinji Mikami will be actively involved in the game development process, collaborating closely with Shift Ups CEO, HyungTae Kim, to create fun games for fans.

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Following the success of Stellar Blade, and with robust financial backing, Korean developer Shift Up has acquired Unbound Studio, founded by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. Shift Up announced the acquisition of all shares of the Tokyo-based studio in a statement released on Wednesday. Mikami established Unbound in 2023 after leaving Tango Gameworks, where he created The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo. In October 2010, shortly after its creation, Mikami’s previous studio, Tango Gameworks, joined Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media. Mikami spent the majority of his career at Capcom, where he directed the original Resident Evil, the 2002 Resident Evil remake for GameCube, and Resident Evil 4. Unbound, which was founded in late 2022, is currently developing a AAA action RPG using Unreal Engine 5 for PC and consoles, targeting a global audience. The studio had 53 employees at the start of 2025 and aims to expand its team to 150. With the acquisition, Shift Up will take charge of publishing Unbound’s upcoming games and expanding its global services.

This acquisition highlights the mutual respect between Shift Up CEO HyungTae Kim and Shinji Mikami. Shift Up, a publicly traded company with healthy cash flow from successful mobile games like Destiny Child and Goddess of Victory: Nikke, is demonstrating its commitment to growth and diversification, accelerating its expansion into the AAA segment on PC and consoles following the success of Stellar Blade in partnership with Sony. In addition to the acquisition, Shift Up is also working on a new multiplatform franchise, Project Spirits, as well as a sequel to Stellar Blade, signaling the company’s ambition for continued growth in the gaming industry. Meanwhile, Mikami has secured a business partner to ensure the growth of his new studio, which is also working on smaller projects in addition to its main AAA title. In a statement, HyungTae Kim said, “I find it extremely rewarding to join forces with Unbound, which has a world-class development team led by CEO Shinji Mikami… This acquisition will provide the best gaming experience for users worldwide and further strengthen Shift Up’s global competitiveness in game development.”

Shinji Mikami Collaborates with Shift Up, Focusing on Creativity for Joint Game Development

Shinji Mikami added, “I am very happy to collaborate with Shift Up’s CEO, HyungTae Kim, and all the staff. I feel a strong synergy with Kim, who is also an active content creator, and believe this is an ideal partnership that allows us to focus on creativity. We will do our best to create fun games so that our two companies, united, can meet the expectations of fans.” Mikami confirmed that he will be hands-on at the studio, fully involved in the games development.

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