Shift Up confirmed its Stellar Blade sequel at Summer Games Fest 2026, officially titled Stellar Blade: Blood Rain. The trailer introduces a new protagonist, Evie, promises a “bold new direction” within the same universe, and signals a turn toward self-publish
The trailer opens on something that looks impossibly glossy and impossibly intense, and then the game’s new headline hits: Stellar Blade: Blood Rain.
At Summer Games Fest 2026, Shift Up revealed the sequel to its breakout hit, Stellar Blade. The company says Blood Rain will live in the same universe as the original, but take that world in a “bold new direction.”
This time, the story follows a new protagonist named Evie—an explicit homage to Eve from the original title. The imagery in the lengthy reveal leans hard into stylish presentation: extremely shiny-looking cutscenes sit side by side with flashy combat sequences. punctuated by earth-shattering hero landings that the trailer leans into for spectacle.
Enemies are where the sequel makes its most immediate visual promise. True to its title. Blood Rain leans into body-horror-themed designs. and the trailer shows their transformation from human into video game monsters in gory detail. It’s a shift from the seemingly Souls-inspired baddies of the first Stellar Blade. which played differently both in look and in tone.
The first Stellar Blade didn’t just land on shelves—it earned real critical traction. The game was generally well received, posting an 81 on Metacritic for its combination of stylish visuals and slick combat. Blood Rain’s showcase is clearly built to extend that reputation. aiming for the same kind of momentum. just with a darker. messier visual identity.
There’s also a business change attached to the announcement. Shift Up says it will self-publish Blood Rain. That’s a sharp turn from the first Stellar Blade’s release through Sony Interactive Entertainment.
The rationale is tied to what players experienced and to what Sony has been doing with its lineup. Some players balked at a PlayStation exclusivity window for Stellar Blade before its PC launch. That dissatisfaction. combined with a renewed focus on exclusives at Sony—where titles are withheld from PC—comes as Shift Up prepares to take more control of its sequel’s path to players.
Stellar Blade Blood Rain Shift Up Summer Games Fest 2026 Evie self-publishing Sony Interactive Entertainment PlayStation exclusivity window PC release Metacritic
Self-publish?? So Sony just said “nah”? lol
Evie is basically just “Eve” 2.0 right? Like they couldn’t come up with a new name so they changed one letter. Also the blood rain sounds like way too much for me but I’m probably still gonna watch the trailer 3 times.
Wait so this is gonna be a sequel but they “change direction” and new protagonist… isn’t that just a different game? And the body horror stuff looks like those Unity asset flips where they overdo the gore. I hope it actually plays good though.
I remember people complaining it was PlayStation exclusive for a bit, and now Shift Up is like “see, we’ll take control”?? But if they’re self-publishing it still might end up on PlayStation only anyway, right? Companies always say they’re doing this for the fans then it’s the same window nonsense. Also that Metacritic 81 on the first one… Blood Rain better not drop the ball. Blood rain sounds cool but that “monsters transforming” scene is a lot.