Stellar Blade director, Kim Hyung-tae, received the Korean “Presidential Medal” – Game News

Kim Hyung-tae, director of Stellar Blade and is the founder and leader of the studio Shift Uphas just been awarded the “Presidential Commendation” at the Korea Content Awards 2025 ceremony taking place in Seoul.

This is one of the highest honors for individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development of content industries in Korea, including games, movies, music and digital media.

Korea Content Awards is an event organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea (Korea).KOCCA – Korea Creative Content Agency) held annually, to honor individuals and businesses who have a positive influence, contributing to enhancing the position of Korean content in the international market.

Within the framework of this year’s awards ceremony, Kim Hyung-tae was recognized for his persistent efforts in developing the Korean game industry through outstanding projects such as Stellar Blade and Goddess of Victory: Nikke.

According to the organizers, the award for Kim Hyung-tae specifically emphasizes the more than 12 years since he founded Shift Up. During this period, he continuously invested in product quality, built unique game IP and promoted the global competitiveness of Korean games. The commercial success and international reputation of the games developed by Shift Up are considered clear evidence of this long-term strategic direction.

When receiving the award, Kim Hyung-tae expressed his gratitude to the development team and the player community for always trusting and supporting the studio. He affirmed that the award was not just for him personally, but was the collective achievement of the entire Shift Up team. At the same time, he pledged to continue efforts to bring Korean games further in the global market, both in terms of creative quality and cultural influence.

At this year’s Korea Content Awards, another character who also received great attention was Maggie Kang – Screenwriter and Co-Director of KPop Demon Hunters. She was awarded the Cultural Medal, the ceremony’s highest award, for outstanding contributions in the field of creative content.

Toward Stellar Bladethis once-exclusive PS5 game was officially released on PC last June and quickly created a big buzz on Steam. The game not only achieved impressive sales but also broke the record for the highest number of concurrent players on PC for a single-player game released by PlayStation.

Earlier this year, Shift Up also confirmed it was developing a sequel Stellar Bladewith an expected release date before the end of 2027 according to the company’s financial reports. At the same time, the studio prepares for launch Project Spiritsa cross-platform game project for PC, console and mobile. This game will be published by Level Infinite – the global publishing brand of Tencent Games, within the framework of the newly announced cooperation agreement.

The national recognition for Kim Hyung-tae is considered an important milestone, not only for him personally and Shift Up, but also for the entire Korean gaming industry, which is increasingly asserting its position on the world map.