Shift Up rewards team with a bonus of 2.9 thousand euros

The Korean developer Shift Up, responsible for the titles Stellar Blade and Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, has formalized a new round of awards for its employees. According to information from Seoul Economic Daily and VGC in January 2026, the company granted a financial bonus of 2.9 thousand euros to each of its almost 300 employees, in addition to devices like Apple AirPods Max and Apple Watch.

The continuous recognition of human capital is a relevant positive point for the company's organizational culture. In January 2025, Shift Up had already delivered a PS5 Pro and the same value of 2.9 thousand euros to team members. Six months later, the producer distributed the Nintendo Switch 2 console to celebrate achieved goals, consolidating a talent retention policy through high-value material incentives.

This strategy aims to demonstrate to the sector in South Korea the viability of stable careers in the gaming industry. By reinvesting part of the profits from Stellar Blade directly in payroll, Shift Up strengthens its technical and operational positioning. Maintaining a highly bonused environment serves as a barrier against turnover of senior developers in an extremely competitive global market.

However, the dependency on luxury consumer goods awards to motivate the team is subject to severe criticism. It is regrettable that the producer uses devices from external brands, such as Apple, as a pillar of its success communication, instead of focusing on long-term structural improvements in the work journey. The recurrent use of these "perks" may mask a culture of excessive effort necessary to achieve the studio's aggressive goals.

Furthermore, the disparity between the financial success of Goddess of Victory: NIKKE and the value passed on to employees suggests a corporate marketing approach. Although the values are considerable, the practice of linking the emotional and financial stability of the developer to one-off bonuses creates technical uncertainty about the sustainability of this model if future projects do not reach the same commercial level.