Company’s official website notes “acquisition” of Unbound
Hyung-Tae Kim’s game studio SHIFT UP announced on Wednesday a new “partnership” with Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami’s new Unbound Studios. SHIFT UP’s official website calls the partnership an “acquisition,” while the announcement video calls it a “publishing partnership.”
SHIFT UP will handle publishing for Unbound’s future game projects, and it will also integrate talent from Unbound to expand its new PC and console-based pipeline.
Mikami directed the first Resident Evil game in 1996, its remake in 2002, Resident Evil 4 in 2005. He also directed Dino Crisis in 1999. He directed his final game for CAPCOM, God Hand, in 2006.
Mikami founded PlatinumGames with Hideki Kamiya and Atsushi Inaba in 2006, where he directed Vanquish, before leaving in 2010.
Mikami founded Tango Gameworks in March 2010. The company released The Evil Within in 2014, The Evil Within 2 in 2017, and Ghostwire: Tokyo in March 2022. Ghostwire: Tokyo was originally scheduled to launch in 2021. Mikami and Tango Gameworks launched the rhythm action game Hi-Fi Rush on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass in January 2023.
He founded Unbound in 2022 and left Tango in 2023.
SHIFT UP is best known for its 2024 game Stellar Blade, and its 2022 mobile game GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE.
Sources: SHIFT UP’s website and YouTube channel, Famitsu.com via Hachima Kikō
