Both Stellar Blade and Nikke are video games that are very similar, from the fact of having cute girls that star in the titles, as well as the fact that both are developed by the company Shift-Up, so players know what they will find in these games: a lot of “fanservice”. But now comes a news that endangers this characteristic aspect, and is that it was discovered that the same company began to sell shares in the stock market, meaning that not only much of the game will no longer be of a single group, but also that changes will be generated in the future.
Shift-Up to sell shares on the stock exchange, complicating fanservice on Nikke and Stellar Blade
With the growth of the South Korean developer Shift-Up in the last year and a half, it is not surprising the large amount of money it has produced, first with its most popular title so far, The Goddess of Victory: Nikke, or with what will be one of the releases of the year, Stellar Blade. This is why, in order to continue with this success, players discovered that the company has begun to sell a large number of shares in the stock market, a move that is seen as intelligent, but also as a threat to creative freedom.
When these sales take place, a large part of the company will begin to be distributed among different groups that acquire the shares, so that in many cases the interests will only go for the monetary side, leaving aside what the most fanatical fans may want in these iconic games: their “fanservice”. In addition, it is expected that in order to attract the attention of investors and larger buyers, in this case from Saudi Arabia, the games will begin to make changes that may affect these “waifus” for which both titles are known.
Although not all is bad news, since in the share sale, Kim Kyung-tae, the largest investor at present, will continue to hold 45% of the shares, which would end up leaving a large part of the creative decisions in his power. On the other hand, Tencent, one of the most important multinational companies in the world, and more so in the video game industry, currently owns 24% of the shares, so they also have enough weight on the decisions within Shift-Up, especially in Nikke and Stellar Blade.
Being the “fanservice” what is in check, Nikke and Stellar Blade fans are where most of the commotion was generated, being that they would be the most affected if changes were to be made, even with the censorship of content that is already available today. And although many remain on the sidelines waiting to see what will really happen, many others feel frightened, as this type of movement has been seen in the past, resulting in more than obvious changes in the games, so now we can only wait to see the results.
Nikke is one of the most popular gacha-style video games that exist today, and it has managed to reach this position thanks to all the content it has delivered to players, especially at the level of characters, which are characterized by many “waifus” with equally varied designs. On the other hand, Stellar Blade is one of the most anticipated releases of the year, being a PlayStation 5 exclusive that will be released on April 26, 2024. This game will be characterized not only by having a beautiful protagonist, but also by having a gameplay system reminiscent of titles like NieR: Automata or Bayonetta.
