Stellar Blade Will Get New Game+ and More Costumes After Launch

The upcoming PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade will be getting a New Game+ mode like most games of its kind do, developer Shift Up confirmed this week, though that mode won't be ready right at launch. Instead, Stellar Blade will follow the path other games have taken more recently where the New Game+ mode is added in a post-launch update. Kim Hyung Tae, the director of Stellar Blade, pointed out New Game+ specifically as something that'll be added later alongside other typical post-launch releases like balance patches as well as new costumes for the game's protagonist, Eve.

Stellar Blade's director spoke to ruliweb.com about the game ahead of its release this month with the conversation at one point turning to the typical post-release process games follow nowadays. In addition to the typical updates fixing bugs and rebalancing moves, he confirmed that "there's no New Game+ in the launch version, but stay tuned for that very soon."

"Of course, if we accidentally miss something or are lacking something, we will fix it after launch," he said. "We'll also be working on balance patches to make the game more enjoyable for those who started early so that those who come in later don't experience any inconvenience."

New Stellar Blade Costumes, too?

But what good is a New Game+ mode if you don't have plenty to carry over with you or new content to work towards whenever you start anew? For Stellar Blade players who want to replay the game later whenever this mode is released, you're in luck, because the director also confirmed that there are plans to release more costumes for Eve as well. Those will be free as Shift Up hasn't yet settled on whether or not it'll release paid DLC or not, though the director did say that should Stellar Blade partner with some other developer to add unique crossover outfits, those premium ones may have a price associated with them.

"We're not sure if we'll be releasing DLC, but we're working on free updates like additional outfits," he said. "We want to make it clear at this point that Stellar Blade will not require gamers to spend any additional money beyond what they paid for the package. The only exception to this is if we create collaborative outfits with third-party IPs, those may be sold for a fee."

Aside from sporadic criticisms of the game's protagonist that suggest Eve may be oversexualized in Stellar Blade, those who've played the demo PlayStation released seem to be fairly fond of the game. Praise for its combat, boss fights, and the tempo of the action were shared online after the demo first released, and for those who may have some concerns with performance, balance, or otherwise, the director said that a day-one patch is being prepared for Stellar Blade, too.

Stellar Blade releases exclusively for the PS5 on April 26th.