■ Total prize money of 28 million won, three times more winnings compared to the previous year
■ ‘Love In Login’ won the Game of the Year in the Stove Indie category
■ The awards ceremony will be held at ‘Burning Beaver 2023’ on the 3rd of next month, and discount promotions will be offered for the winners until the 10th of next month.
Smilegate’s indie game platform ‘Stove Indie’ unveiled the winners of the ‘Stove Indie Awards 2023’, which selects excellent indie games, on Monday the 27th. ‘Game of the Year’ in the Stove Indie category, the highest category, was awarded to ‘Love in Login’ by MetaCraft and Onfire Games.
The ‘Stove Indie Awards’ is one of the most significant awards in the indie game industry that highlights and publicizes games that have received love and anticipation from users within the Stove Indie and indie scenes. The ‘Stove Indie Awards,’ with total prize money of 28 million won, tripled the number of winners compared to last year, selecting 32 winners across nine areas in 2 categories.
A panel of Smilegate executives and employees judged the ‘Game of the Year’ and ‘TOP 10’ awards in the ‘Stove Indie’ category, targeting games released on Stove Indie from October 22 to September 23. The ‘Game of the Year’ goes to MetaCraft, which heated the 2022 Christmas season, and Onfire Games’ ‘Love In Login’, while the ‘TOP 10’ includes ‘God of Weapon’, ‘Tales of the Night’, and ‘Stepper Case’, which are popular last year. Works that are original and familiar to indie game fans were selected.
The ‘World Wide’ category, which targets games released on other platforms or currently in development, is judged by not only the Smilegate developers but also various indie game industry experts such as BIC Organizing Committee Chairman Seo Tae-gun, Korea Creative Content Agency, Neowiz, Korea Game Developers Association, and Indira. Participated in Works that were well-received at BIC and G-Star Indie Showcase, such as ‘Lumine Night’, ‘Nqc: Non-Qualia Character’, ‘P.O’, and ‘Kiki Caki Cap’, were finally selected as award-winning works in recognition of their completeness and immersion.
The ‘Stove Indie Awards’ established a new, more meaningful award category this year. The ‘Booster Pick’ category selects games that have shown high growth based on user communication, and the ‘Koreanized Friend’ category is the complete Korean version of the game. Bishojodev’s ‘Succubate’ was awarded the ‘Booster Pick’, selected through a review of excellent users of Stove Indie’s indie game feedback program ‘Wise Demo Life’. The ‘Korean Translation Friend’ Award was selected through user votes by the translator of ‘You, Her and Her Love’, who received praise from fans for his meticulous translation into Korean.
Stove Indie, which unveiled the winners of the ‘2023 Stove Indie Awards’, will hold a discount promotion and a purchase certification event for the winners until the 10th (Sunday) of next month. Detailed information about the 2023 Awards winners, promotions, and events can be found on the Stove Indie Awards page ( https://indie.onstove.com/ko/store/awards ). The awards ceremony will be held at the Indie Game & Culture Festival ‘Burning Beaver 2023’ at DDP Dongdaemun Design Plaza on Sunday, December 3.
Smilegate Stove Indie Director Seung-Hwan Yeo said, “Through the ‘Stove Indie Awards,’ we hope that all indie game creators, including developers, who have received a lot of love and grown with Stove Indie this year, will be able to shine even more light. “Stove Indie will continue to support and support indie game creators and do our best to be a reliable partner,” he said.
