ShiftUp CEO Hyung-tae Kim received the Presidential Commendation at this year’s Korean Content Awards, for his contributions to the countries’ domestic video game industry. In particular, for the games Stellar Blade and Goddess of Victory: Nikke
According to Daum, Kim accepted the award stating: “This Presidential Citation is thanks to the developers and fans who believed in and supported Shift Up. We will continue to do our best to further promote the competitiveness of Korean games on the global stage.”
The Presidential Commendation is one of the most prestigious South Korean awards, and is presented to those who have performed a distinguished service in bettering the country in some shape or form. ShiftUp, which has contributed significantly to a surge in South Korean video game development, has recieved no respite from praise thanks to its recent work.
Stellar Blade’s popularity is no secret, with the game selling exceptionally well during its initial release on consoles as well as its eventual port to PC, the latter breaking records among similar releases on the platform. ShiftUp is currently working on a sequel to the game, following the stellar performance of the first.
Goddess of Victory: Nikke is a totally different beast. A mobile-based gacha shooter, the game surpassed $1bn in revenue earlier this year during its Valentines event. It’s featured crossovers from various other IPs, including Stellar Blade, Nier Automata, and even Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Stellar Blade is also due for a Switch 2 release, with the port reportedly in development. When we’ll see some new big news for the series remains a mystery, but given the Stellar Blade sequel was aiming for a 2026 release according to an investor presentation, it shouldn’t be much longer.
