Stellar Blade Developer Is Now Worth as Much as KOEI TECMO in Market Capitalization Following Huge IPO
South Korean Stellar Blade developer Shift Up has finalized its IPO (initial public offering), which turned out to be highly successful. As reported by Bloomberg, Shift Up raised $320 million (435 billion won, the local currency), the largest amount a gaming firm gathered during an IPO in almost three years. Back then, Krafton (maker of PUBG) raised $3.8 billion in its IPO. It's also the largest IPO in South Korea across all sectors since HD Hyundai Marine Solution in May.
Lee Jieun, analyst at Daishin Securities Co., reckoned there would be 'ample space' for the stock to rise following the IPO. He was right: Shift Up ended the day with a market capitalization of around $3 billion, which is roughly similar to KOEI TECMO from Japan. KOEI TECMO, however, is a company with roots that date back to many decades ago, having released many notable franchises like Atelier, Dead or Alive, Dynasty Warriors, Fatal Frame, Monster Rancher, Ninja Gaiden, Nioh, Nobunaga's Ambition, One Piece: Pirate Warriors, Rise of the Ronin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, among others.
Related Story Stellar Blade Has Sold Over One Million Units Since Launch
Shift Up, on the other hand, was founded only in 2013 (by Hyung-Tae Kim, who hit the drum during the company's listing ceremony and remains the largest shareholder) and is mainly known for two franchises: Goddess of Victory: Nikke, available on mobile devices and PC, and Stellar Blade, which launched in April for PlayStation 5. The game quickly gained favorable critic reviews and commercial results, having sold one million units in a couple of months.
Shift Up is already looking into a PC port of Stellar Blade and a sequel. Additionally, they have been hiring for a new AAA urban sci-fi action RPG project made with Epic's Unreal Engine. Inevitably, though, this game will take a few years to materialize on the market.
In a way, Shift Up's meteoric rise in market capitalization brings back to mind CD Projekt RED, which at one point was the
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