The Korea Game Awards () is an annual South Korean

awards ceremony An awards ceremony is a type of ceremony where awards are given out. The ceremony may be arranged by a government organization, a society, a school, a trade association or even a company that specializes in running awards ceremonies. Typically a ma ...

that recognizes "individuals and businesses that have contributed to domestic game industry." The ceremony is organized by the Korea Association of Game Industry (K-GAMES) and presented by the

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) is a central government agency responsible for the areas of tourism, culture, art, religion, and sports. It has two vice ministers, three assistant ministers, one commission, and ...

, '' The Electronic Times'' and '' The Sports Chosun'' in conjunction with the

G-Star G-Star (sometimes also written G*STAR, G★ or G★STAR; ) is an annual trade show for the video game industry presented by Korea Association of Game Industry and Busan IT Promotion Agency in November. Originally held in the Seoul Capital Area ...

game

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...

held in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

in November. It is the largest and most prestigious awards ceremony for games in the country, and has been held yearly since 1996. Winners are decided by a combination of judges, game experts and online votes. The Grand Prize, given to the overall best

game of the year Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given by various award events and media publications to a video game that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year. Events and ceremonies British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) ...

(also called the President's Award) has historically been won almost exclusively by

PC game A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...

s; 2004's '' Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders'' is the only

console game A console game is a type of video game consisting of images and often sounds generated by a video game console, which are displayed on a television or similar audio-video system, and that can be manipulated by a player. This manipulation usually ...

to win the award. However, in 2014, '' Blade for Kakao'' became the first

mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...

to win, and since then several mobile games have won the award.

Winners of the Grand Prize (President's Award)

References

{{Reflist 1996 establishments in South Korea Awards established in 1996 Video game awards Video gaming in South Korea