Is Stellar Blade coming to Nintendo?

Initially named Project Eve, Stellar Blade is the latest title from Shift Up that will be released in the first quarter of 2024. It was expected to launch as a multi-platform title, but it has recently been revealed that Sony Interactive Entertainment is set to be the publisher of the game.

This has led gamers to speculate whether Sony will impose exclusivity on Stellar Blade's availability. Some are wondering whether the game will be released on Nintendo.

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Will Stellar Blade be coming to Nintendo?

Stellar Blade will be a PlayStation 5 exclusive (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

No, Stellar Blade will not be released on Nintendo as it has been classified as a PlayStation 5 exclusive. This comes as a letdown to Nintendo players who had hoped to experience the title.

However, it was somewhat expected that the title would be exclusive when news of Sony Interactive Entertainment becoming the publisher came around. Players with PS5s will be glad to know that preorders went live on February 7, 2024.

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Why did Stellar Blade become a PlayStation exclusive

Shift Up CEO expressed in an interview why they made the game a PS Exclusive (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

In an interview with Famitsu, a Japanese video game magazine, Kim Hyun Tae, the CEO of Shift Up, stated that numerous factors came into play when deciding the platforms for Stellar Blade's release. He stated that the team at Shift Up wanted to focus on providing the best gameplay experience on a single platform and decided that a PlayStation 5 release would be the way to go.

"I wanted to release a highly complete work on one platform. When deciding which platform to use, we came to the conclusion that PS5 would provide the most optimal gaming experience. The aim is to enhance the sense of immersion by making full use of the loading speed of the SSD and the adaptive trigger function of DualSense."

When asked if his personal preference was a major factor in the decision, Kim Hyun Tae replied:

"Yes. I liked games even before the PlayStation came out, but back then I didn't have a lot of money... It wasn't until the PlayStation that I started playing games in earnest. For that reason, it was a piece of hardware that had a great deal of significance in shaping my personal values about games."

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When is Stellar Blade coming to PS5?

Stellar Blade will be released on April 26, 2024, and players can expect the preload to go live on April 19, 2024. In his interview with Famitsu, Kim Hyun Tae said that the gameplay style was inspired by the Automata series. He stated:

"Yes. NieR: Automata was also a big reason for me to work on this work. This work made me realize once again that I wanted to make a game like Stellar Blade.''

He also discussed other sources of inspiration:

"There are many other works that have influenced me, such as Bayonetta, Sekiro, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order."

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The new action RPG from Shift Up being a PlayStation 5 exclusive has left Nintendo gamers disappointed, but the gaming community as a whole is excited about the release nonetheless.