Stellar Blade Guide#

Stellar Blade is an action game developed by Korean studio SHIFT UP and released in 2024, with SHIFT UP founder Kim Hyung-tae serving as game director. In June 2026 the studio officially announced the sequel, Stellar Blade: Blood Rain, whose release date has not been announced.

This page is the overview and navigation hub for the section. Two things need to be stated up front:

• The sub-pages in this section are being rewritten in batches against verified facts. Until a given page is updated, specific data on the older pages is unverified and should be treated with caution.
• This page only states information that has reliable reporting behind it. Every claim here can be traced back to public coverage, and anything unconfirmed is collected in the “Not Announced or Not Covered Here” section at the end.

Game Overview#

The following is the basic information that can be confirmed within the scope of this page’s verification:

Stellar Blade: Blood Rain — What Is Confirmed So Far#

As of this page’s update (October 2026), little has been confirmed externally about Stellar Blade: Blood Rain, and this site lists only what can be verified:

• Sequel status: it is the direct sequel to the 2024 Stellar Blade, still developed by SHIFT UP.
• New protagonist: the sequel’s new heroine is EVIE.
• Public material: on July 31, 2026, the official YouTube channel released a music video starring EVIE (see below — it is also where the controversy began).
• Release window: no release date has been announced. Some overseas outlets have speculated 2027 or 2028, but the two claims contradict each other and remain unconfirmed rumors; this site does not treat them as fact. Wait for the official announcement.

Beyond the above, there is no reliable public information about the sequel’s gameplay systems, story setting, or platforms, and this site will not speculate.

The AI Music Video Controversy, Start to Finish#

This was the largest public relations incident for the Stellar Blade series in 2026, and it is impossible to understand SHIFT UP’s AI strategy without it. The full timeline:

The Flashpoint: An AI-Generated Official Music Video#

On July 31, 2026, SHIFT UP published the music video on its official YouTube channel: EVIE, the sequel’s new heroine, appears as a K-Pop star performing the original song “Wanna be in Love.” According to multiple overseas reports, the video was produced by SHIFT UP’s in-house AI Labs division.

The reaction was almost overwhelmingly negative:

• The video was criticized as “AI slop” — much of the lyrics was meaningless, parts of the imagery were distorted, and everything was smeared under a bad soft-focus blur filter.
• The controversy spread further: some players inferred from it that “the game itself will be AI-generated too.”
• The video also contained details with no connection to Stellar Blade at all, such as a K-Pop Demon Hunters keychain, which raised more doubts about how much care had gone into the content.
• One player comment put it bluntly: “Hand-crafted work with some AI is acceptable, but going all-in on AI is too much.”

Worth noting: per overseas coverage, the core concern was not that EVIE’s character design had been drawn by humans — SHIFT UP later addressed that point as well — but why an official promotional music video aimed at every player would rely on AI generation as a whole. In other words, the dispute was not about “who made the character,” but about “the quality and sincerity of the finished product.”

Kim Hyung-tae’s First Response#

On August 4, 2026, Kim Hyung-tae responded to the controversy on X. He stressed that EVIE was created “from head to toe by our talented artists and modelers through more than a year of dedicated work,” and that AI did not create her from scratch but rather “rendered and presented her based on the data, design, and craft our team created.”

The response tried to explain AI’s place in the production pipeline: character assets are made by the team, and AI handles rendering and presentation. Judging by what followed, players did not accept it — the finished product relying on AI generation as a whole was the actual source of the backlash.

The Formal Apology at TGS 2026#

During Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2026, Kim Hyung-tae formally apologized in an interview with Korean outlet INVEN (reports do not give an exact date for the apology):

We have been running various AI application experiments and research through AI Labs, and along the way we felt some of the results were decent, so we released content that should have stayed at the experimental stage as official content… To put it out through official channels like that while the game has not even shipped yet seems to have disappointed players… We are very sorry we failed to distinguish between official content and internal experiments.

Promises Made After the Apology#

Combining multiple reports, Kim Hyung-tae made the following statements alongside the apology:

• No more experimental content released officially: such experimental output will no longer be published through official channels. The team will focus on delivering high-quality game content and on attracting players with pure, actual gameplay.
• But no full abandonment of AI: he argued that “from a practical standpoint it is hard to never use AI; we will make use of it in some form.” The key is explaining to players how AI is used and clearly separating official content from experimental research.
• Some coverage also noted that this music video may be the beginning of the series’ “AI experimental content” moving into external promotion — whether that concern can be dispelled depends on whether SHIFT UP keeps its promise to “separate experiments from official content.”

SHIFT UP’s Position on AI#

Putting this controversy back alongside SHIFT UP’s earlier public statements makes the company’s situation on AI clearer. Kim Hyung-tae had already stated publicly that:

• AI is essential to the future growth of the Korean games industry.
• Roughly 80% of the company’s revenue comes from overseas.
• On R&D investment: “We put about 150 people on one game, but China puts in 1,000 to 2,000, so we lack competitiveness in content quality or volume.”

Taken together, the logic is this: a Korean studio whose revenue is mostly overseas and which has no advantage in headcount treats AI as a necessary tool for staying competitive. The AI music video incident shows that how a tool is used, where it is used, and how it is explained to players shape player sentiment far more than whether it is used at all. Apologizing without announcing an end to AI use is basically the realistic choice for a studio of this kind facing player backlash.

Related News: Stellar Blade: Complete Edition on Nintendo Switch 2#

As a significant piece of news from the same studio (unrelated to the AI controversy), SHIFT UP confirmed the Switch 2 version of Stellar Blade: Complete Edition:

Not Announced or Not Covered Here#

The following has no reliable source at present. This site will not speculate and will update once the studio announces or the information is verified:

• The exact release date of Stellar Blade: Blood Rain (see above — both the 2027 and 2028 claims are rumors).
• The exact date of Kim Hyung-tae’s apology — all reports only say it happened during TGS 2026, with no publicly recorded day. Reports also differ on the occasion (on-stage at a showcase vs. the INVEN interview), with “apologized during the interview” being the more reliable account.
• Whether the AI music video included behind-the-scenes footage simulating the production process — mentioned by a single source only, with no official confirmation.
• Actual changes in player sentiment and pre-orders after the apology — no quantitative data available.
• The specific AI tools and models used to make the music video — not disclosed by the studio, which only mentioned the AI Labs division.
• Gameplay systems, platform lineup, and story setting of Stellar Blade: Blood Rain — this site holds no reliable material and will not transcribe any unverified details.

Section Navigation#

The entries below cover every sub-page in this section:

• Getting Started — starting out, core systems, and early-game routes
• Combat and Skills — explanation of the combat system and skill mechanics
• World and Collectibles — region exploration and collectible reference
• Boss Guides — strategies and counters for each boss
• Gear and Items — reference for the equipment and item systems
• Build Recommendations — builds built around different approaches
• Resources and Materials — upgrade materials and how to farm them

All Pages#

• Achievements and Trophies
• Collectibles
• Controls and Settings
• Costumes
• Endgame Content
• FAQ
• Gallery
• Quest Guide
• Secrets
• Skill System
• Tips
• Trophy Guide
• Upgrade System

Related Games#

• Black Myth: Wukong — a Chinese mythology-themed action RPG
• Bloodborne — a gothic horror soulslike action RPG
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — a Sengoku-era action adventure with a one-of-a-kind deflection system
• Nioh 2 — a demanding Sengoku-setting action RPG
• Demon’s Souls — the origin point of the souls genre

Related Rankings#

Best Soulslike Games · Hardest Bosses · Best Soulslike Games of 2026 H2

Full Guides#

In-depth sub-guides — getting started, combat and skills, world and collectibles, boss strategies, gear and items, build recommendations, upgrade materials, costumes and collectible lists, quests and secrets, and the trophy guide — are available in Chinese on NTGame’s Stellar Blade section.