[DigitalToday reporter Ho-jeong Lee] G-Star will expand its indie game exhibition this year into ecosystem-style content that connects developers with publishers and game engine and platform companies.

A total of 106 developers will take part, up from last year. The event will broaden touchpoints beyond exhibitions and hands-on demos to developer networking, online promotion and investment connections.

According to the G-Star Organising Committee, G-Star 2026 will be held from Nov. 19 to 22 at BEXCO in Busan. The committee's in-house planned content, "G-Star Indie Showcase 2.0: GALAXY", will be set up with 250 booths on the first floor of Exhibition Hall 2, with 106 indie game developers from South Korea and overseas participating.

◆ 106 companies take part...from a simple display to specialised zones

G-Star expanded its indie game exhibition area for its 20th anniversary in 2024 and introduced "G-Star Indie Showcase 2.0: GALAXY POWERED BY STEAM".

At the time, Steam took part, setting up spaces to experience a variety of indie games and the Steam Deck. Last year it ran the indie showcase with 400 booths and brought in 80 developers from 20 countries. Global partners including Komodo, the official Steam Deck distributor, Unity and Discord also joined.

This year, as the number of participating developers rises to 106, the exhibition space will be divided into four areas by character.

"G-Star Selected Indie Demo Zone", which presents titles chosen by G-Star, will feature 37 studios. "Publisher Demo Zone" with global publisher Devolver Digital will include 23 studios.

"Unity Indie Demo Zone" linked to Unity will have 30 studios. "Studio demos and title exhibition" held in cooperation with overseas related institutions, including the European Game Developers Federation and the Embassy of Poland in South Korea, will include 16 studios. Combined, the four areas account for this year's total of 106 participating developers. Steam Deck and Discord will participate as official sponsors.

In its press kit, the organising committee set the direction of this year's indie showcase as "building G-Star's own indie ecosystem, from developers to publishers". It said a key feature of this year's setup is placing in one space companies and institutions involved in development, distribution and global expansion.

Jeong Seung-woo (정승우), head of the G-Star Organising Committee secretariat, explained at an August press briefing, "Because G-Star needs to have its own indie value, we judged it important to show the indie ecosystem rather than simply stop at exhibiting indie games."

◆ Beyond demos to touchpoints for development, distribution and investment

The exhibition content also does not stop at game demos.

The Unity Indie Demo Zone will host the "Unity AI Game Jam" for the first time this year. It will also run "Indie Relay Talk", where working developers share development experience and know-how. This approach adds creative programmes and developer networking functions to the game demo space.

It will also create a channel to publicise games beyond the offline exhibition hall. G-Star plans to work with Steam to operate a special online promotion page focused on past participants and indie titles. Through introductions of key showcased titles and special discounts, it will expose games to users who do not visit the venue in person.

At the B2B exhibition hall, it will also run a separate programme to connect business opportunities. The newly created "G-Star Investment Connect" will include South Korean and overseas VC and corporate venture capital firms, as well as global publishers. The organising committee plans to support promising small and mid-sized and indie developers and startups in raising investment and opening global sales channels. It is not a programme of the indie showcase itself, but it creates a separate touchpoint within G-Star where developers can meet investors and publishers.

These changes are also linked to G-Star's overall exhibition strategy of strengthening in-house planned content. The organising committee in August presented "expanding in-house content" as one of this year's event directions. The aim is to supplement a structure in which exhibition content changes depending on participating companies and to provide a certain level of experience and attractions that G-Star itself can deliver.

This year's changes focus less on expanding exhibition area than on broadening touchpoints among developers, users and industry stakeholders. It bundles touchpoints around indie games into a single event, from on-site demos and developer networking to online exposure and investment links.

An industry official said, "For indie developers, it is important not only to get user feedback but also to secure publisher meetings or overseas exposure opportunities," adding, "If those touchpoints are provided together within one event, the number of practical opportunities developers can gain through participation can increase."