Shift Up, the studio behind Stellar Blade, has continued its tradition of treating its employees incredibly well into 2026. The Korean company has once again bestowed very expensive gifts on everyone who works at the studio, along with a hefty wad of cold, hard cash for them to spend on whatever they like.
As revealed by Seoul Economic Daily, Shift Up employees were welcomed back to the studio in 2026 with pairs of Apple AirPods Max and an Apple Watch to match. That’s one of those each for every employee rather than a delayed game of Dirty Santa where someone unwraps an Apple Watch and then they’re forced to hand it over to whoever likes the look of it.
Shift Up Loves Giving Its Employees Cool Stuff
As if high-end Apple products weren’t enough, as has also been the case in the past, Shift Up employees were also welcomed back with cash to go with their shiny new earphones and Apple Watches. Five million won each, to be exact, which is a little more than $3,400 each. Depending on the model of Apple Watch gifted to its employees, that equates to somewhere between $4,000 and $5,000 in bonuses given to each of its more than 300 employees.
This follows a trend from Shift Up of it gifting its employees expensive presents while also throwing extra money at them. This time last year, it gave all of its employees PS5 Pros, and between then and now, they’re all been given Nintendo Switch 2 consoles. I mean, when you’re hiring people to make games for you, it makes sense that you would want them to own all of the latest hardware, and to not have them worry about finding the money for those consoles amid ever-increasing prices.
Stellar Blade’s Hyper-Realistic Eve Statue Will Cost You A Small Fortune
Even more realistic than they look in the games.
Shift Up Has A History Of Giving Its Employees Expensive Gifts
In 2023, Shift Up gave everyone at the studio an iPhone 14, and in 2021, it gave everyone a regular PS5 to celebrate the announcement of Stellar Blade, which was still known as Project Eve at the time. These might seem like small gestures to some for a studio that likely makes a lot of money, but it’s a refreshing story in an industry where so many developer are losing their jobs, and some studios are being shut down entirely.
It’s also a positive sign for Stellar Blade’s sequel and the original game’s continued success. Perhaps Shift Up employees will be gifted different consoles in the future as it’s already been confirmed that, unlike the original Stellar Blade, its sequel will not be a PlayStation exclusive.
- Released
-
April 26, 2024
- ESRB
-
M for Mature
- Developer(s)
-
Shift Up
- Publisher(s)
-
Sony Interactive Entertainment
