Stellar Blade took home a whopping seven awards at the 2024 Korea Game Awards on November 13, 2024. Read on to learn more about the game's wins at the prestigious award show.
Stellar Blade Wins Excellence Award and Six Others at the 2024 Korea Game Awards
Stellar Blade Director Aims for Grand Prize in Future Games
SHIFT UP's Stellar Blade dominated the 2024 Korea Game Awards, claiming seven major awards, including the prestigious Excellence Award. The ceremony, held at Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO) on November 13th, recognized the game's technical achievements in Game Planning/Scenario, Graphics, Character Design, and Sound Design. Stellar Blade also received the Outstanding Developer Award and the Popular Game Award.
This win marks the fifth time that Stellar Blade Director and SHIFT UP CEO Kim Hyung-tae has been involved in a game that won at the Korea Game Awards. His previous wins include Magna Carta 2 for Xbox 360 and the 1999 title The War of Genesis 3, both during his time at Softmax. He also contributed to the 2012 PC game Blade and Soul as Art Director at NCSoft, and to SHIFT UP’s Goddess of Victory: Nikke in 2023.
"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 said in his acceptance speech, according to Korean news outlet Econovill, translated via Google. "But with the help of all the staff and game officials, we were able to achieve good results."
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 recognition.
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 efforts 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.
