Stellar Blade Director Says AI Could Let One Developer Do the Work of 100

Released back in 2024 and perhaps best known for featuring a scantily clad protagonist, Stellar Blade has found itself back in the limelight but perhaps not for the best reasons.

Developed by Korean studio Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Stellar Blade made a name for itself back in 2024 despite the game itself being met with mixed reviews.

Players would be tasked with taking on the role of Eve as she embarks on a mission to save humanity from a relentless war in the future.

Launching as a PlayStation 5 exclusive in April 2024, Stellar Blade arrived on PC in 2025 with fans praising its visuals and combat whilst negative reviews seemingly focused on the uninspiring narrative.

However, it was not for all of these reasons that Stellar Blade went viral across social media but rather because of the outfits that the player is able to dress Eve in as they do not leave much to the imagination.

Therefore, it was not long before it was labelled as a “gooner game” but let’s face it, that probably did more for Stellar Blade’s sales than any other marketing would achieve.

Fast forward almost two years and Stellar Blade is back in the headlines but, as with all things in recent years, this time it is to do with its connection to AI.

That is because, according to Stellar Blade director and Shift Up CEO Hyung-tae Kim, using AI will become “essential” in order to compete with the overwhelming manpower of Chinese and U.S. developers.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

The Korean Developer Seemingly Can't Keep Up

First reported by GameMeca, Kim revealed that other countries have an advantage based on the sheer number of developers that can be added to a project.

Speaking at South Korea’s 2026 Economic Growth Strategy event, Kim said: "We devote around 150 people to a single game, but China puts in between 1,000 to 2,000. We lack the capacity to compete, both in terms of quality and volume of content”.

According to the CEO, implementing AI will not lead to job losses, but rather it will make employees more valuable, allowing “one person to do the work of 100 people”.

Let’s face it, it is not like Shift Up is struggling with money the moment after it was reported that 300 of its staff had been gifted with an Apple Watch, AirPods Max, and a $3,400 cash bonus over the Christmas period.

Well, it seems unlikely as Shift Up joins the ever-growing list of studios which wish to onboard AI for future projects.

What do you think of this implementation of AI? Efficient tech that levels the playing field, or costing people potential jobs?