Shift Up CEO breaks down why Stellar Blade: Blood Rain's new lead Evie looks younger than Eve

Shift Up CEO Hyung-tae Kim sat down with IGN after the Summer Game Fest reveal of Stellar Blade: Blood Rain to explain the thinking behind new protagonist Evie — and why she looks noticeably younger and smaller than the first game's Eve.

Kim confirmed the age difference is intentional. \"She is younger. She's smaller in size. She's shorter than Eve,\" he said, adding that Evie belongs to a special squad hunting a terrorist group causing attacks across the city. Unlike Eve's sword-focused combat, Evie punches her way through fights. The trailer sparked some concern about her young-looking face paired with an adult voice and body design — Kim pushed back on that directly. \"If you actually play the game, you will not think that,\" he said, arguing that Evie's personality, voice, and fighting style all combine to make her \"a very lovable character.\" On outfits — a big part of the first game's identity — Kim was brief but pointed: \"It will be even more appealing. That's all we can say.\"

As for why Shift Up ditched Eve in the first place, Kim teased a story reason without giving it away. \"We cannot tell you everything right now because this would be a spoiler,\" he said, \"but once you have played the sequel, you will see that Eve's backstory will be more memorable.\" Blood Rain is designed as a standalone story — no prior knowledge required — but players who finished the first game will pick up on details that recontextualize Eve's history.

Shift Up hasn't locked in platform plans yet, but since the studio is self-publishing Blood Rain, a simultaneous PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC launch is on the table. The game is still early in development, though the studio says the team has made \"incredible progress\" so far.