It wasn’t too long ago that legendary creator Shinji Mikami revealed his new studio, UNBOUND, which is already hard at work on their first project. Then today it was announced that the studio has been acquired by Korean developer and publisher SHIFT UP, who you might know from their work on Stellar Blade.
I’ll be honest: given that today is April 1st, 2026, I was initially hesitant to report this news, since you never know what is real or fake on April Fools’ Day. That being said, I can assure you that several colleagues, including our Editor-in-Chief, Keith Mitchell, and I, have checked this thoroughly before reporting, and it seems to be completely legit.
Below you can find the video version of the announcement:
The video was accompanied by the following announcement:
SHIFT UP (CEO Hyung-Tae Kim) announced that it has completed the acquisition of Japanese game developer UNBOUND Inc. by acquiring all of its shares.
UNBOUND is a PC and console game development studio led by Shinji Mikami, who is known for his work on global hits such as the Resident Evil series, Devil May Cry, The Evil Within series, and Okami, and a team of veteran developers. The team bring together those with acclaimed experience both in and outside of Japan, attracting significant attention from the global gaming industry.
Currently, UNBOUND is developing original PC and console-based IPs targeting the global market.
Through this acquisition, SHIFT UP has successfully integrated world-class development talent and expanded its new PC and console-based pipeline. Furthermore, the company plans to directly handle the publishing of UNBOUND’s upcoming titles and gradually build its own global service capabilities.
Following the announcement, both SHIFT UP CEO Hyung-Tae Kim and UNBOUND CEO Shinji Mikami shared some comments on the acquisition:
SHIFT UP CEO Hyung-Tae Kim stated, “I find it deeply meaningful to join forces with UNBOUND, which brings together a world-class development team led by CEO Shinji Mikami,” adding, “This acquisition will serve as an opportunity to deliver the best gaming experience to users worldwide and further solidify SHIFT UP’s global development competitiveness.”
Shinji Mikami, CEO of UNBOUND, said, “I am very pleased to be partnering with SHIFT UP CEO Hyung-Tae Kim and all the employees.” He continued, “I sense strong synergy with CEO Kim, who is also an active creator, and I believe this is an ideal partnership that allows us to focus on creativity. We will do our best to create fun games so that both companies, working as one, can meet our fans’ expectations.”
I get the impression that this is a great deal for both sides, allowing SHIFT UP to expand their publishing capabilities while giving UNBOUND some financial security that is increasingly hard to come by for studios that choose to remain independent.
I’ll be eagerly awaiting our first look at whatever UNBOUND is working on, and as soon as we have more details about that, you’ll find it here on The Outerhaven.
Sources: Press Release
