Shift

Shift at a Glance

Shift is a Japanese developer founded in 1996 that has produced sixteen games since its first release in 1998. The company never acted as a publisher and focused entirely on development work. Their catalog spans from the late nineties through 2019, with output growing noticeably over time. They released only two titles in the 1990s and four during the 2000s. The bulk of their work arrived in the 2010s when they launched ten games. This increase coincided with a shift toward handheld platforms, as eight of their releases appeared on the PlayStation Portable and five came out for the PlayStation Vita. The studio worked with major publishers including Square Enix, Sony Computer Entertainment, Nintendo, BANDAI NAMCO Games Inc, and Apple Inc. Their game library leans heavily toward Role-playing games, which make up eight titles in their catalog. They also developed six puzzle games and three adventure games. Other genres include hack and slash beat em ups, shooters, turn-based strategy, and general strategy. Most of their software runs on PlayStation systems, with additional releases for PC, Xbox One, Android, and iOS. Quality assessments show a generally positive trend. The average IGDB rating across ten rated titles sits at 69.8 out of 100. Their best work includes Bombastic from 2002, which scored 81 points. The God Eater franchise appears frequently in their top-rated list. God Eater 2 received 79.3 points, while the original God Eater earned 74.6. Freedom Wars and Gods Eater Burst also landed solid scores in the low seventies. Seven of their rated games fall into the good range between 60 and 79. They have one title in the great category and two that rated as mixed between 40 and 59. No titles dropped below 40. Recent releases like Code Vein from September 2019 maintained this standard with a score of 72.2. Later entries such as God Eater Resurrection and God Eater 2: Rage Burst saw scores around 67 to 70. The company seems to have specialized in action RPGs for Sony handhelds before moving toward console titles near the end of their active period. Their output remains modest compared to larger industry players, but they delivered a consistent stream of games over two decades.

Release Timeline

Rating Distribution