Shift Up Has Acquired Shinji Mikami’s Unbound Studio

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News reporters have a tough job on April 1st, because we have to double-check everything to make sure it’s not a prank. But I’m very confident this story is actually true.

Today, Stellar Blade developer Shift Up announced it’s acquiring Unbound, the studio founded by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. Shift Up plans to publish and create new games for PC and consoles, aiming for a worldwide audience.

Stellar Blade Developers Shift Up Has Acquired Shinji Mikami’s New Studio

Shinji Mikami has been creating video games for nearly four decades, but he became widely known in 1996 as the director of the original Resident Evil. That game was hugely influential, and he continued to work on many successful titles, including several Resident Evil sequels, Dino Crisis, Okami, Onimusha, Phoenix Wright, Viewtiful Joe, The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Hi-Fi Rush. He’s truly a gaming icon.

It’s not surprising that Shift Up, a company that recently announced plans to increase its ability to publish games on its own, has acquired Unbound, the new studio founded by renowned game creator Mikami. Shift Up stated in a press release that Unbound is working on new game ideas for PC and consoles, aimed at players worldwide.

SHIFT UP CEO Hyung-Tae Kim expressed his excitement about the acquisition, stating that partnering with Unbound and its talented development team, led by CEO Shinji Mikami, will allow SHIFT UP to create even better games for players around the world and strengthen its position as a leading global game developer.

Mikami expressed his excitement about working with Hyung-Tae Kim, the CEO of Shift Up, and the entire team. He feels a strong creative connection with Kim, also a game creator, and believes this partnership will allow both companies to fully focus on making enjoyable games that fans will love. They are committed to delivering on those expectations by combining their strengths.

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I just saw a new announcement video, and it showed some cool concept art for a feathered creature from Unbound’s next game – Genki spotted it first! They also teased some other monsters that probably come from one of their existing titles, which got me super hyped.

Unbound was just revealed earlier this month, and Hiroki Mikami described it as a completely independent company. However, that’s no longer the case. This news follows Mikami’s departure from Tango Gameworks – the studio he created – in 2023, before Xbox closed it down a year later.

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2026-04-01 11:36