Stellar Blade targeting 2025 PC release, sales expected to "exceed" console
New year's Eve.
Stellar Blade, the well-received sci-fi action-adventure from developer Shift Up, is targeting a 2025 release on PC, and the studio says it expects sales to exceed those seen on console.
Stellar Blade, which tells the story of sword-wielding soldier Eve as she attempts to liberate Earth from a monstrous alien threat known as the Naytibas, released exclusively for PlayStation 5 back in April, going on to sell 1m copies by the end of June.
And now Shift Up has announced plans to follow that success with a PC version at some point next year. The news was shared in the developer's Q3 2024 earnings report, where it said a Stellar Blade PC release was "being considered within 2025". It then added that due to "Steam's expanding market share in the AAA game sector and the global success of Black Myth: Wukong, we expect the performance on PC to exceed that on consoles."
Black Myth: Wukong, for context, was a barnstorming success when it released in August, managing to sell 10m copies across PC and PS5 in just three days and quickly becoming the most-viewed game on Chinese livestreaming platforms. And while Shift Up's targets for Stellar Blade on PC are likely to be considerably more modest, the developer still has positive expectations for the game's ongoing popularity.
"To enhance the IP value and maintain momentum, we have been consistently releasing content patches and updates, which has helped sustain the game's popularity," it noted of the PS5 version, adding that, "With the addition of the Nier: Automata DLC and ongoing marketing activities, we plan to maintain the IP's popularity until the platform expansion."
Stellar Blade's Nier: Automata DLC launches for PS5 on 20th November, and there's also a "no ponytail" hair option for Eve, plus a new photo mode, on the way.
Eurogamer's Jessica Orr awarded Stellar Blade four stars when she reviewed it earlier this year. "[There's] a fair bit of weirdness," she wrote, "but its killer tunes and vibey, flow-state combat - plus a transformative hard mode - are enough to leave you entranced."