Kim Hyung-tae is the director of Stellar Blade and CEO of SHIFT UP. He is scheduled to appear on a TGS 2026 stage on September 20 to promote the Switch 2 version of Stellar Blade Complete Edition.
Kim Hyung-tae's public profile rests on two pillars: his history as a creator who moved from manga ambition to founding a studio, and his current role fronting SHIFT UP's push into the Nintendo platform. The Game Spark profile traces his path from a boy who wanted to draw manga, shaped by Japanese works like Gunnm, through early rejection, to art and direction work on Magna Carta and Blade & Soul, and finally to leaving NCsoft to found SHIFT UP in 2013. That founding led to the studio's console debut, Stellar Blade.
The most recent story puts Kim at the center of the Switch 2 version's promotion. SHIFT UP announced on August 27, 2026 that Stellar Blade Complete Edition will get its first public demo at Tokyo Game Show 2026, with six stations in the Sega Partners Corner. Kim is set to appear on a special stage on September 20, conducted in Korean with Japanese interpretation and livestreamed on Sega's YouTube channel. His presence on that stage signals direct involvement in selling the port to a Japanese audience.
Together the stories frame Kim as a hands-on founder-director, one whose personal history is part of the game's marketing, and who is now visibly attached to the Switch 2 release window of 2026.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
Aug 27
SHIFT UP announced on August 27, 2026, that the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Stellar Blade Complete Edition will be playable for the first time by the general public at Tokyo Game Show 2026. The demo will feature six stations set up in the Sega Partners Corner within the Sega/Atlus Booth (Hall 4/04-N01) at Makuhari Messe. TGS 2026 runs from September 17 to 21, with business days on the 17th and 18th, and public days from the 19th to the 21st. The Switch 2 version is scheduled for release within 2026. A special stage will be held on September 20, featuring Stellar Blade director and SHIFT UP CEO Kim Hyung-tae. The stage will be conducted in Korean with Japanese interpretation and will be livestreamed on Sega's official YouTube channel. Stellar Blade is an action-adventure game where players control Eve, a member of a space colony unit, fighting to reclaim Earth from creatures called Natives. The game was previously released for PS5 in April 2024 and for PC in June 2025.
Aug 15
Game Spark traces Kim Hyung-tae's career from a boy who dreamed of being a manga artist to the founder of SHIFT UP and director of Stellar Blade. The profile covers his early rejection, his work on Magna Carta and Blade & Soul, and his decision to leave NCsoft to found SHIFT UP in 2013.