I would think it would have to be an update to the client (App/Webpage) and server (database) code so yes, update to the codebase.
For the client side, the app/webpage would need to be update to display awards in the UI. And the server would need to store the awards, content award is associated with, user info etc.
I was thinking of an idea similar to Reddit awards to help fund instances.
This is me IRL! Almost too relatable.