Stellar Blade Dominates 2024 Korea Game Awards

Stellar Blade director aims for Future Game Awards

SHIFT UP’s Stellar Blade took home the 2024 Korea Game Awards, winning seven major awards, including the prestigious Award of Excellence. The awards ceremony, held on November 13 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO), recognized the game's technical achievements in game planning/scenarios, graphics, character design, and sound design. Stellar Blade also won the Outstanding Developer Award and the Hot Game Award.

This win marks Stellar Blade director and SHIFT UP CEO Kim Hyung-tae’s fifth time working on a Korean Game Awards winning game. His previous award-winning titles include Magna Carta 2 for Xbox 360 and the 1999 game The War of Genesis 3, both of which were won during his tenure at Softmax. He also worked on the 2012 PC game Blade & Soul as NCSoft's Art Director, and 2023's SHIFT UP: Nikki.

"When we first created Stellar Blade, many people expressed concerns about whether we could make a console game in Korea and achieve meaningful results," Kim Hyung-tae told Korean news outlet Econovill stated that the interview was translated by Google. "But with the help of all the staff and game officials, we were able to get a good result."

Stellar Blade narrowly missed the Grand Prize, which went to Netmarble's Solo Leveling: ARISE . Despite this, developer SHIFT UP remains committed to Stellar Blade's future, with Kim Hyung-tae promising "Stellar Blade is not over yet. We are preparing many updates in the future, so look forward to it. Next time, we will make an even better game and even win the grand prize."

For a complete list of winners at the 2024 Korea Game Awards, you can refer to the table below:

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

Unfortunately, Stellar Blade was not nominated for the Ultimate Game of the Year at the 2024 Golden Joystick Awards. However, with The Game Awards 2024 approaching, there's still hope for the game to receive more accolades.

Regardless, Stellar Blade's momentum continues to build. With a highly anticipated collaboration with Platinum Games' NieR: Automata slated for November 20th, and a PC release planned for 2025, the game's reach is expanding. SHIFT UP's 3rd Quarter Business Performance Results even indicate a commitment to sustain the IP’s popularity through increased marketing endeavors and content updates.

And these seem to be just the beginning for Stellar Blade. More content updates and patches are on the horizon, and the game’s recent success both domestically and internationally will hopefully pave the way for future Korean-made AAA titles that can rival even the best games in the industry.