Shift Up Delays the IPO and Stellar Blade Tops Number One Game in the US in April
On 5 June, Shift Up announced that it will be postponing its IPO to July. The original book building period for the institutional investors was from 3 to 13 June.
The final book building date has been postponed to 27 June. The subsequent public offering subscription for general investors was also postponed to 2 to 3 July.
A major investment positive of Shift Up is enormous initial success of Stellar Blade which was the best selling game in the U.S. and numerous other countries in April 2024.
On 5 June, Shift Up (462870 KS) announced that it will be postponing its IPO to July. The original book building period for the institutional investors for the Shift Up IPO was from 3 to 13 June. The final book building date has been postponed to 27 June. The subsequent public offering subscription for general investors was also postponed to 2 to 3 July (from 18 to 19 June previously). The company plans to announce the IPO price on 1 July.
Major Risk Factor Related to Uncertain Lifespan of Games
The updated IPO prospectus included additional information related to risk factors including business risk, company risk, and other risks. Among these risks, the uncertain lifespan of games is a major risk factor on the company and it is worth highlighting. Destiny Child, which was first released in the domestic mobile market in October 2016 was terminated in September 2023.
Goddess of Victory: Nikke accounted for 97% of total sales in 2023 and 97.6% of total sales in 1Q 2024. The fact that the company mostly depends on one game to generate most of its sales is one of the biggest risk factors. It also remains uncertain how long the game Goddess of Victory: Nikke will remain popular.
In the case of Goddess of Victory: Nikke and Stellar Blade, the company delegates marketing and other services to global publishers and pursues a strategy of focusing on development. However, in the case of Destiny Child, the company directly published and marketed the game. The platform fees were recognized as expenses, so the revenue and cost structure was partially changed following the termination of the Destiny Child game service. As of the updated securities report submission date, there is no impact of Destiny Child on the company's financial statements.
Through the Goddess of Victory: Nikke game, the company is targeting the main Asian markets (Japan, Korea, and China) for mobile games. Through the Stellar Blade game, the company is targeting the global markets for console games.
Stellar Blade Tops Number One Game in the US in April
Launched in April 2024, Stellar Blade is an action adventure that focuses on fast, dynamic action play and high-quality 3D graphics. Stellar Blade has recorded a rating of 9.3, the highest among all PS5 games of all time, according to user reviews on professional review site Metacritic.
Stellar Blade was the best selling game in the U.S. and numerous other countries in April 2024.The table below by Circana shows that Stellar Blade was the best selling game for physical and full game digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM, and xBox platforms in terms of dollar sales in April 2024.
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