Stellar Blade dev Shift Up has acquired Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami’s new studio
Shift Up will publish and support all of Unbound’s future games
Korean Stellar Blade developer Shift Up has acquired the new studio founded by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, it’s announced.
In an announcement published on Wednesday, Shift Up said it has purchased all shares of Tokyo-based Unbound, the studio Mikami quietly established in 2023 after leaving his former company, Ghostwire and Hi-Fi Rush’s Tango Gameworks.
Mikami is best known for his time at Capcom, where he directed the first Resident Evil, its 2002 GameCube remake, and Resident Evil 4, among other titles.
In a website published last year, Unbound said it had around 50 employees working on an original IP for consoles and PC.
In a video accompanying the acquisition news, Shift Up said the two companies had decided to join forces after Mikami and Shift Up boss Hyung Tae Kim realized they shared similar visions for creating games.
“What draws these two together isn’t geography or market logic. It’s a shared conviction that strong creative direction and high-quality execution go hand in hand,” the announcement reads.
“Unbound runs on parallel development: smaller, experimental titles alongside a large-scale flagship, so neither ambition nor risk-taking ever gets sacrificed to the other.”
Shift Up will publish Unbound’s titles going forward and support it with development resources, it said.
Wednesday’s teaser video appears to show a glimpse at Mikami’s next game, with a multi-winged monster towering over a destroyed city.
Mikami said in a statement: “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.”
Kim added: “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.”
