Shift Up, a South Korean company, has acquired the Japanese studio Unbound, founded by Shinji Mikami. The company behind Stellar Blade and Goddess of Victory is thus strengthening its global PC and console publishing capabilities.
Shift Up, the South Korean developer behind Stellar Blade and Goddess of Victory: Nikke, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Japanese game developer Unbound Inc. by purchasing all of its shares. The purchase price was not disclosed. Unbound is a PC and console game development studio led by Shinji Mikami, who is renowned for his work on the Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, The Evil Within and Okami series. The company is currently developing original PC and console-based IPs targeting the global market. By acquiring Unbound, Shift Up has strengthened its pipeline for PC and console games. Furthermore, the company intends to publish Unbound's forthcoming titles directly and gradually develop its own global service capabilities.
Hyung-Tae Kim, CEO of Shift Up: "I find it deeply meaningful to join forces with Unbound , which brings together a world-class development team led by CEO Shinji Mikami. This acquisition will serve as an opportunity to deliver the best gaming experience to users worldwide and further solidify Shift Up's global development competitiveness."
Shinji Mikami, CEO of Unbound: "I am very pleased to be partnering with Shift Up CEO Hyung-Tae Kim and all the employees. I sense strong synergy with CEO Kim, who is also an active creator, and I believe this is an ideal partnership that allows us to focus on creativity. We will do our best to create fun games so that both companies, working as one, can meet our fans' expectations."
