[Edaily Reporter An Yu-ri ] Online voting for the “2026 Korea Game Awards,” which selects the year’s best domestic game, began on the 26th, marking the start of full-fledged competition among the nominees. While PearlAbyss Corp.’s “Red Desert” is widely tipped to win the Daesang, NC (NCsoftCorporation(036570))’s “Aion 2” is also considered a strong contender.

The Korea Game Awards, to be held on November 18, is considered the highest honor for domestic game developers. Last year, “Mabinogi Mobile,” developed by DevCat and published by Nexon, received the Daesang, the Presidential Award.

The title most frequently mentioned as a frontrunner for this year’s Daesang is “Red Desert” by PearlAbyss Corp.(263750), a game credited with making history for Korean console gaming. Developed in-house by PearlAbyss Corp., this open-world action-adventure game surpassed 6 million cumulative global sales in June—an achievement reached just 83 days after its launch.

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok posted on his social media last April, when sales surpassed 5 million copies, saying, “I sincerely congratulate *Red Desert* on its remarkable achievement in elevating the status of the South Korean game industry on the world stage.”

*Red Desert* also demonstrated its technical prowess by utilizing *BlackSpace*, an in-house developed engine. Following its win of the Technical Innovation Award at the UK’s “Develop Star Awards 2026” in July, *Red Desert* received the Best International Game Award at China’s “China Game Innovation Awards 2026” in August.

Can “Aion 2” Carry On the Daesang Award Won by Its Predecessor?

NC’s MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) “Aion 2” is also being touted as a strong contender for the Daesang. The original “Aion: Tower of Eternity” won the Daesang at the 2008 Korea Game Awards.

Following its domestic success, “Aion 2” has recently launched globally and continues to gain popularity overseas. According to NC, as of the 20th—the 20th day since the start of early access—“Aion 2” recorded a cumulative total of 6.3 million character creations worldwide. During the early stages of its official launch, the peak number of concurrent users exceeded 400,000.

Another reason interest is focused on *Aion 2* is that this marks the first time in a long while that NCSoft has nominated a title for a Daesang at the Korea Game Awards. Given that the game has proven its success both domestically and internationally, a key point of interest will be how the revival of Korea’s leading MMORPG IP (intellectual property) is evaluated by the judges.

It is also noteworthy that new MMORPG titles are competing alongside established ones among this year’s nominees. Alongside NCSoft’s *Aion 2*, nominees for the main award include *Eclipse: The Awakening* by Npixel and Smilegate, *ZEUS CO., LTD.* by Everton andCom2uS Corporation(078340), and *The World of Goblins* by Supercat andKakao Games Corp.(293490).

Since these MMORPGs are currently engaged in fierce competition to attract users in the gaming market, all eyes are on how they will fare at the Daesang.

In addition, Netmarble Corporation(251270)’s “MonGil: STAR DIVE” and “The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin,” Smilegate’s “Chaos Zero: Nightmare,” and Relu Games’ “Mimesis” are also competing as nominees for the main awards. It is noteworthy that new titles across various genres, beyond just MMORPGs, have been submitted, creating a competitive landscape.

This year’s awards ceremony will be held on November 18 at BEXCO in Busan, one day before the opening of the “G-STAR” game exhibition. The Korea Game Industry Association began online voting for each category on the 26th and will continue until 5:00 p.m. on the 16th of next month.