Stellar Blade has now been released on Sony's PlayStation 5, and gamers have been left unsure if it will ever released on Microsoft's Xbox or PC.
The debut game from Korean developer Shift Up was finally released in March 2024, almost five years after it was announced in 2019. Stellar Blade (formerly Project Eve) is a sci-fi action-adventure game putting gamers in control of Eve as she battles through a post-apocalyptic world.
Could Stellar Blade Still Come to Xbox?
Developed by Korean studio Shift Up, Stellar Blade was initially revealed in 2019 under the title of Project Eve with plans to release it on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The game was highlighted again at September 2021's PlayStation Showcase, but as no publisher had been announced, it appeared this was simply a marketing pact between Shift Up and Sony, and the game was still set for release on Xbox too.
However, things took a turn for Project Eve at September 2022's State of Play where the game was rebranded as Stellar Blade and a "PlayStation 5 Console Exclusive," with Sony Interactive Entertainment taking up publishing duties.
With Xbox starting to share some of its exclusive titles with PlayStation starting with four games, perhaps there may be room for Sony to make a similar move in the future to bring titles such as Stellar Blade to its competitor down the line.
Microsoft announced the shocking endeavor in February with Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded set to release on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles - via The Verge.
But as the situation stands currently, Sony seldom shares its console exclusives with Microsoft, meaning Stellar Blade has an almost non-existent chance of making its way to the Xbox Series X/S at any point.
Some have speculated Microsoft may not have been interested in distributing Stellar Blade due to its advice to developers - via the Microsoft site - against including characters with "exaggerated body proportions."
Stellar Blade came under fire for its main character Eve's curvier proportions, despite being based on an actual 3D scan of Korean model Shin Jae-eun.
Could Stellar Blade Release on PC?
Upon rebranding Stellar Blade as a Sony Interactive Entertainment product, the Shift Up experience was branded as a "PlayStation 5 Console Exclusive." While this makes it clear the game won't come to any other consoles such as those from Xbox or Nintendo, it doesn't rule out a release on PC.
PlayStation Studios has recently made increasing efforts to bring its titles to PC including The Last of Us, Uncharted, God of War, and Spider-Man franchises. These efforts mean Stellar Blade has a reasonable chance of one day being ported to PC, if there is believed to be enough interest.
That said, PlayStation Studios has only been bringing its games to PC months or years after their console debut. So, gamers should not expect to see Stellar Blade arrive on PC anytime before 2025, if it ever does at all.
Stellar Blade is available now on PS5.
