Stellar Blade Sequel Aims for Richer Story After 3M Sales

As Stellar Blade surpasses 3 million global sales, director Hyung-tae Kim confirms the upcoming sequel will feature a more substantial storyline.

Speaking with This Is Game (via Genki), Kim revealed the team originally crafted a deeper narrative for Eve and her companions. However, production constraints forced significant cuts to cinematic sequences, ultimately impacting story development. This explains numerous unanswered questions in the game, including the rationale behind Eve's frequent costume changes.

While Shift Up considered adding supplemental cutscenes post-launch, Kim expressed concerns this might contradict players' existing understanding of the narrative. Consequently, the sequel promises a fully-realized storytelling experience.

The development team remains focused on completing the PC version, with Kim cautiously estimating a potential 2027 release window for the sequel.

The PC port of Stellar Blade, launched June 11, has already become Sony's most successful single-player Steam debut, achieving a peak concurrent player count exceeding 192,000. For context:

• Ghost of Tsushima: 77,154 peak
• God of War: 73,529 peak
• Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered: 66,436 peak

The only Sony-published title with higher concurrent numbers is the multiplayer-focused Helldivers 2.

IGN's review awarded Stellar Blade a 7/10, praising its core action mechanics while noting narrative shortcomings: "The game excels in crucial action elements, but shallow characters, an underwhelming plot, and some frustrating RPG mechanics prevent it from reaching genre heights."

The PC version includes enhanced features:

• AI upscaling via Nvidia DLSS 4 / AMD FSR 3
• Unlocked framerates
• Japanese/Chinese voiceovers
• Ultrawide support
• Higher-res textures
• DualSense haptic feedback integration