Shift Up studio, creator of Stellar Blade, has announced that its next game, Blood Rain, prioritizes running well on current consoles and PCs without the need for expensive components. Its director, Hyung-Tae Kim, stated that there is a limit to progress based on price. However, behind this apparent humility lies a marketing strategy to position itself as a studio of the people, when in reality Blood Rain will use Unreal Engine 4, an engine that is no longer cutting-edge.
Unreal Engine 4: Shift Up's technological excuse 🎮
The graphics engine of Blood Rain is the same Unreal Engine 4 that powered Stellar Blade. This is not a virtuous decision, but a necessity. Shift Up does not have the budget to optimize for top-tier hardware or to license Unreal Engine 5. While titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Alan Wake 2 require €1,000 graphics cards to deliver experiences impossible on older consoles, Shift Up hides behind a limit of progress that is, in reality, an excuse not to invest in advanced technology.
White-label humility: €70 and no extras 💸
The public applauds Shift Up's supposed humility, but Blood Rain will cost €70, the same as the games it criticizes. The director says there's no need for expensive hardware, but his game will not be able to compete visually with upcoming titles from Sony or Microsoft. It's like a daily menu restaurant boasting about not charging for seafood, but then serving you frozen fish and charging the same as a wild turbot dish. Affordability is not a virtue when it stems from a lack of ambition.