Talk of a Stellar Blade sequel was already doing the rounds back in March, but now it's being mentioned in a more official capacity. As per a new public report from developer Shift Up (thanks Gematsu), the South Korean studio is "exploring the possibility" of a follow-up to the recently released action title. It's also looking into crafting a PC version, which makes sense, as Stellar Blade is currently a PS5 exclusive.
Interestingly, Shift Up's report goes on to highlight the success of well-known franchises. "AAA console titles such as God of War and Final Fantasy have shown tremendous potential, selling over [66 million copies and 185 million] respectively", it reads.
"There are many precedents for AAA titles to evolve into [intellectual property] franchises by extending their lifespan through a series of high-quality sequels and maintaining a long-term monetization base. As a result, we are exploring the possibility of a PC version of Stellar Blade and a sequel."
In other words, the developer seems to like the idea of evolving Stellar Blade into a full-on franchise. There's nothing wrong with dreaming big, is there?
Meanwhile, for the less distant future, Shift Up plans to support Stellar Blade with "new gameplay elements, including downloadable content releases". We'll no doubt be hearing more about that stuff soon.