By Yoon Sung-won

BUSAN ― Nexon Korea's mobile action role-playing game (RPG) "Heroes of Incredible Tales" (HIT), developed by NAT Games, was named this year's best game in Korea, Wednesday.

During the 2016 Korea Game Awards ceremony, HIT won the grand prize, beating Netmarble Games' "Stone Age," developed by Netmarble N2, in the main prize competition.

"It is a great honor to win the biggest game prize of the year," NAT Games CEO Park Yong-hyun said after receiving the award at the BEXCO exhibition center in Busan, Wednesday. "We will continue to provide entertaining games for users."

Besides the grand prize, HIT was also named as the most popular Korean game of the year. Blizzard Entertainment's "Overwatch" was the most popular foreign game.

HIT has drawn more than 11 million users globally in less than a year since its release. Featuring cutting-edge graphic technology and dynamic action, the game is also a hit in overseas markets such as Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam, helping Nexon boost its global mobile game sales.

Started in 1996, the annual awards event has run for 21 years. The event is hosted by the Korea Internet Digital Entertainment Association (K-iDEA) and organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

In 2014, mobile action role-playing game (RPG) "Blade for Kakao," developed by Action Square and published by Four Thirty Three, won the grand prize for the first time as a mobile title. A year later, mobile action RPG "Raven with Naver" by Netmarble Games won the top prize. As HIT clinching the top game prize, it has shown that mobile games are rapidly boosting their presence in the industry as the mainstream over computer online games.

Neowiz Bless Studio's Bless IMC Games' "Tree of Savior," Factorial Games' "Lost Kingdom" and ROI Games' "White Day: A Labyrinth Named School" jointly won third prize.

Skonec Entertainment's virtual reality (VR) shooting game "Mortal Blitz VR," designed for Sony Interactive Entertainment's PS VR and HTC's Vive platforms, won the next-generation game content prize.

Netmarble Games won the corporate social responsibility prize for running a game academy to foster industry talent.