Games · The Signal
Shift Up plans to separate AI experiments from game footage after Blood Rain backlash
CTO DongKi Lee says the studio takes the criticism seriously, while still seeing a role for AI in development.
Reporting updated Sep 23, 2026
An experimental promo needs to tell viewers what it represents before they mistake it for the game.
What Happened
Shift Up made its AI-assisted Stellar Blade: Blood Rain music video to show more of the world and new protagonist Evie, DongKi Lee told TheGamer. After criticism, he said the studio wanted a clearer separation between experimental material and game-related content.
Lee did not announce an end to AI use. He described tools that should support developers’ creativity and skills.
Why It Matters
For a team trying a new visual technique in a promo, the label belongs alongside the footage. Tell viewers whether they are seeing a playable scene, an artistic experiment or a separate music video. That gives the work a fairer test than leaving the audience to guess what the game will look like.