Stellar Blade

AppWizard
June 14, 2026
Sony has shifted away from porting singleplayer PlayStation titles to PC, raising concerns about competition with Valve. Alinea Insights reported that 42% of Death Stranding 2's PC sales came from China, its largest market on Steam. Approximately 39.48% of Steam users have their language set to English, while 21.85% prefer Simplified Chinese, representing over 30 million players. Shift Up, developer of Stellar Blade, announced they will not partner with Sony for the sequel, focusing on a global market strategy. Alinea's analysis shows that releasing games on PC does not harm PlayStation sales; Death Stranding 2 saw increased PS sales following its PC launch, and Stellar Blade also experienced a rise in PS5 sales despite not being discounted. Launching games on PC broadens the player base and enhances marketing opportunities.
AppWizard
May 19, 2026
Hermen Hulst, CEO of PlayStation Studios, confirmed that major narrative-driven titles from PlayStation studios will be exclusive to the PlayStation platform. This indicates a shift in Sony's strategy, favoring exclusivity for flagship single-player intellectual properties. While some titles like Horizon Hunters Gathering may still release on both PC and PlayStation, major studio productions will likely be exclusive. Notable exceptions include Helldivers 2, which will launch on Xbox, and the PS5 shooter Saros, which will not be available on PC. Upcoming title Kena: Scars of Kosmora will be published on Steam and the Epic Games Store, while also being listed under Sony Interactive Entertainment on the PlayStation Store. The multiplayer game Horizon Hunters Gathering is expected to launch on PC, but future mainline entries in the Horizon series featuring protagonist Aloy are unlikely to see a PC release. Titles like Ghost of Yotei and Marvel's Wolverine are expected to remain exclusive to PlayStation.
AppWizard
May 11, 2026
Shift Up has announced plans for the sequel to Stellar Blade, with new information expected to be revealed within the year. The sequel is set to launch before 2027 and aims for a simultaneous release on PC and console platforms, as Shift Up is bringing publication in-house to avoid previous exclusivity issues with Sony. Development of Stellar Blade 2 is reportedly progressing smoothly, meeting targeted quality standards. Additionally, Shift Up is working on a new intellectual property called Project Spirits, which is also progressing well, with more details expected by the end of the year.
AppWizard
May 9, 2026
Stellar Blade was cracked by the cracker known as ‘voices38,’ bypassing its Denuvo anti-tamper technology nearly a year after its release by Sony on PC in June 2025. Unlike typical practices, Sony has not removed the game from circulation. The voices38 crack bypasses Denuvo protections without altering the operating system, unlike the HYPERVISOR Bypass, which requires disabling certain Windows security features. Previous Denuvo cracks have allowed the technology to operate in the background. Legitimate owners of Stellar Blade face penalties while pirates access the game freely, raising questions about Denuvo's effectiveness. Other publishers, including Capcom, Square Enix, KRAFTON, NEOWIZ, Gearbox, Bethesda, Bandai Namco, and Warner Bros, have removed Denuvo from several of their titles.
AppWizard
April 29, 2026
PUBG has a two-month update schedule, with the next significant update planned for June 2026. The recent 41.1 patch released in April 2026 introduced a new game mode called Xeno Point, two new attachments (Hybrid Scope and Tilted Grip), and a new Emergency Support Flare. The Jammer Pack received enhancements with level one and three variants, the latter available only in care packages. Players can exchange Enemy Blue Chips at Blue Chip Towers for supply drops, and destructible terrain has been added to Erangel. A crossover event with Stellar Blade has also been integrated into the game.
AppWizard
April 2, 2026
In 2023, Shinji Mikami founded a new studio called Unbound, marking his third studio creation after PlatinumGames and Tango Gameworks. Unbound recently launched its website, attracting the attention of Shift Up, a Korean publisher, which announced the complete acquisition of Unbound. Mikami emphasized the importance of nurturing young talent and expressed confidence in creating a "masterpiece of a game." Unbound currently has around 50 staff members and is expanding its workforce for an upcoming project. Mikami conveyed his enthusiasm for the creative process and addressed gamers, asking them to wait a little longer for the game's release.
AppWizard
March 30, 2026
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach sold 425,000 copies on PC in its first week and has a total of over two million copies sold, combining sales from PlayStation 5 and PC. The game launched exclusively on PlayStation less than a year ago and transitioned to PC in nine months, making it the fastest exclusive to do so. Sony is reportedly adjusting its strategy for PC releases, with live-service games moving to PC while single-player titles are expected to remain exclusive to PlayStation 5.
AppWizard
March 2, 2026
Sony's strategy for porting PlayStation exclusives to PC is shifting, with a potential move towards keeping single-player titles exclusive to consoles for longer periods. The focus may now be on live service games rather than traditional single-player experiences. While Sony continues to port select titles to PC, player engagement data shows mixed results; games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Spider-Man Remastered, and Ghost of Tsushima achieved high peak concurrent players, while others like Horizon Forbidden West and Last of Us Part II had lower peaks. HellDivers 2 has outperformed other titles in Sony's PC offerings. Sony's relationship with the PC gaming community has been strained due to initial registration requirements for the PlayStation Network, which were later reversed. Upcoming console exclusives, such as Marvel’s Wolverine, suggest Sony may prioritize hardware sales over PC releases.
Search