Stellar Blade director says studio will use AI to compete with Chinese developers

Shift Up CEO and Stellar Blade director Hyung-tae Kim has outlined plans to use AI as a way to help the studio remain competitive with Chinese game developers. As reported by Korean outlet GameMeca, Kim discussed the strategy during a national briefing on South Korea’s “2026 Economic Growth Strategy” on January 9.

According to a translation provided by Automaton, Kim highlighted China’s significant advantage in manpower, saying, “We devote around 150 people to a single game, but China puts in between 1,000 and 2,000”.

Arguing that Shift Up “lacks the capacity to compete, both in terms of quality and volume of content,” Kim believes the solution lies in embracing AI. Kim argues that AI will not result in job losses, because Shift Up will need to utilize all available manpower and make them proficient in AI to compete with gaming industry developers in China as well as the United States.

At the same time, Kim is of the belief that AI will make it so that “one person can perform the work of 100 people”.

Kim did not cite specific Chinese studios or games, though several high-profile releases from China have seen major success in recent years. Black Myth Wukong sold more than 10 million copies in its first three days in 2024, while the free-to-play Where Winds Meet surpassed 10 million pre-registrations ahead of its 2025 launch.

Kim also did not detail how AI would be implemented at Shift Up. While AI is often associated with creative generation, it has also been discussed as a tool for more practical applications, such as assisting quality assurance teams, as outlined by former The Witcher 3 director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, for his upcoming RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker.

Shift Up is working on Stellar Blade 2

Stellar Blade was a major success as a PlayStation 5 console exclusive in 2024. Its performance reportedly made Hyung-tae Kim one of South Korea’s wealthiest individuals, with an estimated net worth of $725 million. The game’s PC release on Steam in 2025 also broke records as the highest-performing single-player PlayStation title on the platform.

Following its success, Shift Up is unsurprisingly working on Stellar Blade 2. A job listing on the studio’s Korean website indicates that the sequel will be a multiplatform release, suggesting it will launch on more platforms than just PlayStation. In addition to PC, this could include Xbox and potentially the Nintendo Switch 2.

No further details about the sequel have been shared. Stellar Blade stars Eve, a purposefully alluring android protagonist, and features third-person melee combat with a heavy emphasis on parrying and dodging, similar to Sekiro Shadows Die Twice. Kim previously revealed that former PlayStation president, Shuhei Yoshida, discovered Stellar Blade and vouched for the game to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Based on Kim’s comments, AI is likely to play a role in the development of Stellar Blade 2. AI remains a contentious topic within the video game industry, with studios that adopt it often facing public criticism.

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer, Larian Studios, admitted to using generative AI for the upcoming new Divinity, promising that it was only for exploring ideas during the concept art stage. However, following backlash from fans and former Larian employees, Larian have since announced during an AMA on Reddit that they are no longer using generative AI.

Elsewhere, Dead Space creator Glen Schofield has argued that generative AI is necessary to fix the gaming industry, while the creative director of Dispatch has argued that AI is only a creative solution “if you aren’t creative”.