After the launch of Stellar Blade, SHIFT UP’s next big goal was to enter the stock market. After some obstacles, the company has now achieved this goal and its top leader has reassured fans of his works who have doubts about the company’s future.
Although it raised suspicions about its business due to the risks it could pose for investors, SHIFT UP today, within the framework of the celebrations of the 11th anniversary of its founding, finally managed to list itself on the Korean Stock Market through an initial public offering (IPO) that released 7.3 million shares, each worth $51.54 USD, which raised its value to $320 million USD.
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This is the largest IPO for a South Korean video game company in three years and also the largest of 2024 overall, just below that of HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co., which reached $553 million in the middle of the year, according to information from Bloomberg. To put this into context, in 2021 the also South Korean video game company KRAFTON did the same and reached $3.8 million in its initial offering.
“We couldn’t have done it without the support of so many people. We are sincerely and deeply grateful,” Hyung-Tae expressed in a message via Twitter (X), for which displays of support and congratulations were not long in coming, and among the many fans appeared once again that of PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida.
Fans predict SHIFT UP’s downfall after foray into the stock market
This event gave a lot to talk about among fans and followers of SHIFT UP, also for the worse, since in forums such as reddit they expressed that this type of companies do not lead to good results, but rather represent a detriment to the business of the companies while hurting their relationship with the user.
Just look at the featured post on reddit, where you can see many comments in the vein of doomposting predicting the fall of SHIFT UP and that everything will get worse due to the interference of shareholders and their decisions taken solely in favor of money; there are very few who give a vote of confidence to SHIFT UP and ask to have faith in it.
SHIFT UP has just entered the Stock Market with great success
SHIFT UP reiterated that they will not lose sight of their fans
The man of culture, founder, developer, and general director of the studio, Kim Hyung-Tae, is aware of the concerns and, as he did days ago, reaffirmed his commitment to the fans and requested their support as they have given it until now.
“We recognize that registration is a process, not a goal. We will remain calm and focused on making great games,” the founder added. “To achieve this, we will need your help and support just as we have done until now. We look forward to your continued support.”
In case you missed it: SHIFT UP has big plans for the short and long term.
It should be noted that Hyung-Tae and his wife, Ji-yun Chae, still hold the majority of the shares, so while outside shareholders are involved in the direction of the company, it is these two people who have the final say on it. Hyung-Tae’s shares would be worth around $1.2 billion. The second largest shareholder remains Tencent Holdings.
Many fans have also expressed great concern about the possible interference of shareholders who try to Americanize or introduce Western ideas to the South Korean studio. However, it is important to note that buying shares in SHIFT UP is not that simple, since it is only listed on the Korean Stock Exchange and does not allow participation from foreign shareholders; only from the region.
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