By Sagar V. Mankar The 2024 Korea Game Awards, held at Busan’s Bexco convention center just before the G-Star trade fair, turned into a remarkable celebration of Korean gaming excellence, with Shift Up’s PlayStation 5 exclusive Stellar Blade leading the pack with a total of seven awards.
Stellar Blade, which launched on April 26, dominated the ceremony by securing victories in multiple categories including Excellent Developer, Best Planning/Scenario, Best Sound, Best Graphics, Best Character Design, and the Popular Game Award, alongside the prestigious Grand Award.
This win marks the fifth Korea Game Awards win for Stellar Blade Director and SHIFT UP CEO Kim Hyung-tae after Magna Carta 2, The War of Genesis 3, Blade and Soul at NCSoft, and SHIFT UP’s 2023 release, Goddess of Victory: Nikke.
“In the initial stages of Stellar Blade’s creation, there were doubts about our ability to develop a console game in Korea and achieve significant success,” stated Kim Hyung-tae in his acceptance speech, as reported by Korean news outlet Econovill. “However, thanks to the collective efforts of our staff and game officials, we managed to attain excellent results.”
The game’s success stems from its stunning visuals, dynamic gameplay, and engaging narrative that has resonated with players worldwide. The awards this year were determined entirely by user votes, which further emphasizes the immense popularity of Stellar Blade among gamers.
Looking ahead, Shift Up plans to expand on this success by releasing Stellar Blade on PC in 2025. The developer has also announced the upcoming launch of the game’s Photo Mode and a Nier Automata DLC, set to release on November 20. The game is also among several PS5 exclusives that have been enhanced by the PS5 Pro’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) upscaling technology, delivering even more impressive visuals.
Other Notable Winners at the Korea Game Awards 2024
Another major highlight of the evening was Solo Leveling: Arise claiming the Grand Prize. Developed by Netmarble Neo, this cross-platform game has made a significant impact since its global release on May 8. Based on a popular webtoon sold over 20 million in two weeks and contributed to 13% of Netmarble’s third-quarter revenue. The award committee particularly praised the game’s creative adaptation and its potential to pave the way for future webtoon-based games.
Here is the full list of winners (Thanks Game8):
- Grand Prize: Solo Leveling: ARISE (Netmarble)
- Excellence Award: Stellar Blade
- Best Game Award: Trickcal Re:VIVE (Epid Games), Lord Nine (Smilegate), The First Descendant (Nexon Games)
- Best Planning/Scenario: Stellar Blade
- Best Sound Design: Stellar Blade
- Best Graphics: Stellar Blade
- Best Character Design: Stellar Blade
- eSports Development Award: Hanwha Life Esports
- Achievement Award – Gyu-Cheol Kim – Former Chairman of the Game Management Committee
- Outstanding Developer Award – Kim Hyung-Tae (SHIFT UP CEO)
- Popular Game Award: Stellar Blade
- Indie Game Award: Terminus: Zombie Survivors (Longplay Studios)
- Startup Company Award: ReLU Games
- Proper Gaming Environment Creation Company Award: Smilegate Megaport
- Game Cultural Foundation Director Award: Uncover the Smoking Gun – ReLU Games
The awards ceremony, which incorporated public votes, expert evaluations, and judge panel assessments, served as a powerful reminder of the Korean gaming industry’s growing influence on the global stage. The success of these titles, particularly Stellar Blade and Solo Leveling: Arise, demonstrates how Korean developers are successfully creating games that appeal to both domestic and international audiences.