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. Additionally, 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 international recognition. He attributed the success to the dedicated efforts of the development team and industry collaborators.
While Stellar Blade narrowly missed the Grand Prize (awarded to Netmarble’s Solo Leveling: ARISE), SHIFT UP remains committed to the game's future. Kim Hyung-tae confirmed plans for substantial future updates, expressing ambition to win the Grand Prize in future iterations.
2024 Korea Game Awards Winners (Partial List):
The following table showcases a selection of the award recipients:
| 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 a Golden Joystick Awards nomination, Stellar Blade's future remains bright. A collaboration with NieR: Automata is scheduled for November 20th, with a PC release planned for 2025. SHIFT UP's Q3 business results indicate continued investment in marketing and content updates to maintain the game's popularity. This success points towards a promising future for Korean AAA game development.
