South Korean developers are turning heads worldwide and ShiftUp just earned recognition for it.
Shift Up’s CEO and Stellar Blade director, Hyung-tae Kim, has received the Presidential Commendation at the 2025 Korea Content Awards, marking a rare recognition of the impact Korean games are making on the global stage.
According to a report by South Korean news outlet Daum, Kim accepted the award at Seoul’s COEX, which is hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
He was honoured for his contributions through titles like Goddess of Victory: Nikke and Stellar Blade, both of which have pushed the visibility of Korean IPs worldwide.
"This Presidential Citation is thanks to the developers and fans who believed in and supported Shift Up," Kim said. "We will continue to do our best to further promote the competitiveness of Korean games on the global stage."
Stellar Blade sets records on console and PC this year
Since its PlayStation 5 launch in April 2024, Stellar Blade has sold over one million copies within two months, highlighting the potential of Korean-developed triple-A console games.
Shift Up followed this with a PC release in June 2025, which sold more than one million copies in just three days. The game now boasts an overwhelmingly positive 98% user score on Steam, making it the best-selling PlayStation-exclusive launch IP in history on PC in terms of peak concurrent users, surpassing Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, and Marvel’s Spider-Man.
The game’s commercial success is matched by Shift Up’s corporate moves. According to Daum, following its IPO in July 2024, the studio raised 435 billion won (roughly U$320 million) on its first day of trade, the largest for a Korean gaming company since Krafton’s 2021 IPO. To celebrate, the studio gifted staff a PlayStation 5 Pro and a cash bonus of 5 million won (US$3,400) last Christmas.
Stellar Blade’s total sales have now reached three million copies across all platforms, and a sequel is already in development. Meanwhile, Shift Up is also working on Project Spirits, to be published by Level Infinite.
