Shift Up Wins a Total of 7 Awards Including the Grand Prize
Yoon Yang-su, Director of the Content Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (left), is receiving an award from CEO Kwon Young-sik. Photo by Lee Jung-yoon
At the '2024 Korea Game Awards,' which selects the best game in Korea this year, Netmarble's "Solo Leveling: Arise" won the Grand Prize.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Game Industry Association held the 2024 Korea Game Awards on the 13th at BEXCO in Busan. "Solo Leveling: Arise," which won the Grand Prize that day, was recognized for successfully transforming the original webtoon Solo Leveling intellectual property (IP) into a game. It is an action role-playing game (RPG) developed by Netmarble Neo and serviced by Netmarble.
Released in May, the game was officially launched in 174 countries worldwide, including Korea, and ranked number one in downloads in 141 countries. Additionally, it achieved first place in sales in 21 countries and surpassed 20 million downloads within two weeks of release, marking a successful hit. At the time, the industry also noted it as a rare case of successfully producing a game based on a webtoon. It is available on both PC and mobile platforms.
Kwon Young-sik, CEO of Netmarble and Netmarble Neo, who received the Grand Prize, said, "Many K-webtoons have been made into games, but I believe Solo Leveling: Arise is the first successful case," adding, "I hope K-content expands into new media."
He also added, "I am grateful to Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk for allowing creative freedom through quick reviews and entrusting the development company." Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk of Netmarble also personally visited the event to offer encouragement.
Alongside Solo Leveling: Arise, Shift Up's "Stella Blade," which was also nominated for the Grand Prize, received the Excellence Award. Stella Blade, recognized as a leading console game, was released as a PlayStation 5 exclusive title and sold over one million copies within two months, attracting attention from users both domestically and globally. It was also notable as the first Korean game directly published by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE).
Kim Hyung-tae, CEO of Shift Up, who took the stage to receive the award, said, "There were concerns and doubts about whether we could achieve meaningful results when we first started making the game," but added, "I am grateful to everyone who saw the potential and participated."
In addition to the Excellence Award, Stella Blade won awards in all categories of planning and scenario, sound, graphics, and character in the technical and creative awards. Following the Popular Game Award, CEO Kim was also selected for the Outstanding Developer Award. With this, Shift Up won a total of seven awards.
The Excellence Awards went to Smilegate's massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) "Lord Nine," Epis Games' "Trick Girl Revive," and Nexon Games' "First Descendant."
The Merit Award, given to individuals who contributed to the game industry, was awarded to former Game Rating and Administration Committee Chairman Kim Kyu-chul. The eSports Development Award was given to Hanwha Life eSports in recognition of their continuous interest and active activities. The Indie Game Award went to Longplay Studio's "Terminus: Zombie Survivors," and the Startup Company Award was awarded to Relu Games.
Yoon Yang-soo, Director of the Content Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "Thanks to the efforts of game industry professionals, Korea's game industry has achieved remarkable results and is now seeking new growth through collaboration with other content IPs," adding, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to actively support game companies and improve unnecessary regulations to establish a social foundation for the development of the game industry."
The game awards ceremony was held a day before "G-STAR 2024," Korea's largest game show, which opens at BEXCO in Busan the following day. This year's G-STAR will feature 3,281 booths. Nexon Korea is the main sponsor, with participation from Netmarble, Webzen, and Krafton, and companies such as the streaming platform SOOP have also prepared experience zones.
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