Kim Hyung-tae, director of 2024’s Stellar Blade and founder and CEO of developer Shift Up, has invited fans to share their opinions about a new AI-generated music video starring Evie, the protagonist of the upcoming Stellar Blade: Blood Rain.
The response has been overwhelmingly negative. Shift Up released the “Wanna be in LOVE” Feat. Evie video late at night, openly labelling it as AI-generated in its YouTube description. The page carries “Made with AI” and “Sounds or visuals were altered or fully generated” notices.
The video’s visual errors make the technology difficult to miss. Evie’s face changes noticeably between shots, while generated lettering on props is frequently unreadable or misspelled. A vending machine displays phrases including “Preduet Spee”, “Refiil Natice” and “Custemef Service”.
Another scene shows Evie beside a bookshelf filled with indistinct books. One appears to reference Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, although the title is rendered as “Meaiiatations”.
“You as an artist looked at this and thought it looked good enough to post as an official representation? I’m surprised. It looks unpleasant and you’re driving me away from Blood Rain.” pic.twitter.com/EB68ZxTFut
— Valcrist, July 31, 2026
The criticism has focused not only on the video’s appearance, but also on what its use of generative AI might suggest about the sequel’s production. One user wrote on X that Shift Up should stop using generative AI to promote Stellar Blade, warning that the backlash could harm the series’ reputation.
Another commenter questioned the decision and argued that Shift Up’s musical composition had been one of the studio’s strengths.
Twitch streamer BasedLEDA stated that Shift Up has a talented team of human creators. They praised Stellar Blade and its soundtrack, as well as the team behind Nikke, but said the AI video raised fears that Stellar Blade: Blood Rain could rely heavily on similar material.
The video’s most-liked YouTube comment summed up the mood: “They really thought they were cooking with this AI slop.”
Why the reaction was predictable
Shift Up’s use of generative AI may be less surprising in light of comments Kim made during an interview in January. He praised the technology’s potential, saying that one person could perform the work of 100 people with its help.
Kim also compared the scale of Shift Up’s development teams with those in China. He said the studio assigns roughly 150 people to one game, while Chinese productions can involve between 1,000 and 2,000 people, leaving Shift Up without the capacity to compete in both content quality and volume.
For readers tracking the broader arcade and gaming news landscape, the dispute highlights a familiar tension: audiences may accept experimental technology, but promotional material still needs consistent art direction and quality control. Those considering a dedicated arcade machine can also explore upright arcade cabinets or space-saving bartop arcades.
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