Stellar Blade's Triumph at the 2024 Korea Game Awards
SHIFT UP's Stellar Blade achieved remarkable success at the 2024 Korea Game Awards, held on November 13th at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO). The game secured an impressive seven awards, including the coveted Excellence Award. Its accolades extended to recognizing excellence in Game Planning/Scenario, Graphics, Character Design, and Sound Design. Furthermore, Stellar Blade received the Outstanding Developer Award and the Popular Game Award.
This marks the fifth Korea Game Awards win for Stellar Blade Director and SHIFT UP CEO, Kim Hyung-tae. His previous wins span titles like Magna Carta 2, The War of Genesis 3, and contributions to Blade and Soul and Goddess of Victory: Nikke.
Kim Hyung-tae's acceptance speech, as reported by Econovill, highlighted the initial skepticism surrounding the development of a Korean-made console game achieving significant success. He attributed the achievement to the dedicated efforts of the entire team.
While Netmarble's Solo Leveling: ARISE claimed the Grand Prize, SHIFT UP remains focused on Stellar Blade's future. Kim Hyung-tae confirmed ongoing updates and expressed ambition to win the grand prize in future iterations.
2024 Korea Game Awards Winners (Partial List):
The following table shows a selection of the award winners:
| Award | Awardee | Company |
|---|---|
| Grand Presidential Award | Solo Leveling: ARISE | Netmarble |
| Prime Minister Award | Stellar Blade (Excellence Award) | SHIFT UP |
| Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award (Best Game Award) | |
| Trickcal Re:VIVE | Epid Games |
| Lord Nine | Smilegate |
| The First Descendant | Nexon Games |
| Sports Shipbuilding President Award | |
| Stellar Blade (Best Planning/Scenario) | SHIFT UP |
| Stellar Blade (Best Sound Design) | |
| Electronic Times President Award | |
| Stellar Blade (Best Graphics) | |
| Stellar Blade (Best Character Design) | |
| Commendation from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism | |
| Hanwha Life Esports (eSports Development Award) | |
| Gyu-Cheol Kim (Achievement Award) | Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Award |
| Kim Hyung-Tae (Outstanding Developer Award) | SHIFT UP |
| Stellar Blade (Popular Game Award) | |
| Terminus: Zombie Survivors (Indie Game Award) | Longplay Studios |
| Korean Creative Content Agency President Award | ReLU Games (Startup Company Award) |
| Game Management Committee Chairperson Award | Smilegate Megaport (Proper Gaming Environment Creation Company Award) |
| Game Cultural Foundation Director Award | Uncover the Smoking Gun | ReLU Games |
Despite missing the Golden Joystick Awards nomination, Stellar Blade's future looks bright. A collaboration with NieR: Automata is scheduled for November 20th, with a PC release planned for 2025. SHIFT UP's commitment to sustaining the game's popularity is evident through planned marketing and content updates. This success is poised to influence the future of Korean AAA game development.
