Smilegate’s indie game platform ‘Stove Indie’ announced on the 13th (Monday) that it will reveal 30 works that were finalists in the ‘Stove Indie’ category of the ‘Stove Indie Awards 2023’ and conduct various promotions for the nominated works.
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. This year’s ‘Stove Indie Awards’ will triple the number of award winners compared to last year and award awards in 9 areas in 2 categories. The total prize money won is 28 million, and the winning work will receive prize money and support for various promotions and community events.
The award category is divided into the ‘Stove Indie’ category, which targets games released on Stove Indie from October 22 to September 23, and the ‘World Wide’ category, which targets games released on other platforms or currently under development. Among the ‘Stove Indie categories, 30 games that heated up Stove Indie this year, including ‘Stepper K’s’ and ‘Tales of the Midnight Sun,’ were nominated for ‘Game of the Year’ and ‘TOP 10’ through Stove Indie’s internal review.
A judging panel of Smilegate executives and employees will select the final winner. In addition, awards will be given in a variety of areas, such as works directly selected by creators working with Stove Indie, such as ‘Creator Pick,’ ‘Booster Pick,’ and Korean Version Buddy, high-quality Korean translation, or games that have shown high growth based on user communication.
Eligible for submission in the worldwide category are domestic and foreign indie games that have been released on platforms other than Stove Indie or are currently under development from October 29, 2022, to October 25, 2023, among works that are not registered in Stove Indie. Awards will be given in four categories: ‘Best Graphics,’ ‘Best Narrative,’ ‘Best Music & Sound,’ and ‘Best Challenge’. Smilegate Group’s awards will be given to entries received from October 25th to November 6th. A panel of judges comprised of developers and game industry experts conducts evaluations based on each category’s completeness, immersion, and creativity.
Stove Indie, which selected the final candidates in the Stove Indie category, will hold a ‘Koreanization Friend Voting Event’ from the 13th (Monday) to the 26th (Sunday) to guess the winners in the ‘TOP 10’ category and select the game that showed the most successful Korean translation. In addition, to commemorate the awards being held until November 26, the winning works of last year’s ‘Stove Indie Awards’ will be presented at a special discounted price.
Stove Indie will announce the winning works on Monday, the 27th of this month, and hold an awards ceremony on the stage of ‘Burning Beaver 2023’, the largest indie game festival in the metropolitan area, to be held on Sunday, December 3.
More detailed information about the 2nd Stove Indie Awards can be found on the official website.
