On Thursday morning at KINTEX's second exhibition hall in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, a long line formed in front of HoYoverse's Genshin Impact booth as visitors waited for their turn. A signboard in front of the paid "fortune draw" said, "From here, 120 minutes required."

Anyone taking part in the fortune draw receives 1 random photo card from a total of 109 types. Visitors flocked to it even though it was paid, enough for organisers to post an expected wait time of 120 minutes.

A visitor in his 20s, Kim (김) surnamed only, said, "I've played Genshin Impact for a long time, and I can get goods for characters I like, so I thought it would be worth waiting." He added, "I was surprised to see the two-hour notice, but since I came all the way here, I plan to try it before I leave."

A short distance away, the Honkai: Star Rail booth was also crowded. Visitors gathered around the "Starpiece gem appraisal system" to wait for their turn, and other experience areas posted an expected wait time of about 60 minutes. Anyone who takes part in the Starpiece gem appraisal system can receive a Hoyoland2026 limited can badge set or other goods.

HoYoverse Korea said all 34,000 tickets for the four-day event were sold out. Organisers split entry by time slots and deployed safety staff to prevent crowds from gathering at once. Goods were also run through online reservations and pickup, rather than on-site purchases.

◆ A game universe brought outside the screen... visitors take on "quests" themselves

Hoyoland2026, which opened on Thursday, is an offline event that brings together five major HoYoverse games in one place: Honkai Impact 3rd, Genshin Impact, Tears of Themis, Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero. It runs through Oct. 5 at Halls 7 and 8 of KINTEX's second exhibition hall and at the outdoor front and rear plazas.

Programmes include title-specific experience booths and goods, food and beverages, and community events, as well as stage programmes, lucky draws, a DIY zone and partner booths.

On-site experiences are designed to go beyond displaying images from the games, with visitors taking on in-game roles and carrying out missions themselves.

Genshin Impact set up a booth called "Serenade Under the Moonlight" themed around the in-game region "Nod-Krai." Visitors can complete requests from the Adventurers' Guild to receive photo cards, or take part in activities such as the fortune draw, ring toss and "biting orca." It also includes a computer graphics exhibition zone and photo zone using scenes from the game.

At the Honkai: Star Rail booth, visitors become "Raccoon Communications trainee reporters." After receiving a trainee press card, they investigate an office while avoiding closed-circuit television (CC) cameras, face off in a dance battle at "Sparky LIVE" and look for clues hidden throughout a hospital. After completing all experiences, they also write their own "investigation scene report."

Zenless Zone Zero also built an experience area themed around "Lost Caliper." Missions include pressing a button to match the bus arrival time, using a fan to return "Bangboo" to a designated location, and dancing a waltz with a character.

Those who succeed in missions can receive souvenirs using the games' universes, including "Aurelia Academy student ID," "Bellina civil servant ID" and "Remiel wanted notice."

◆ Making goods and cosplay... a venue filled by fans

The games' universes continued outside the experience zones.

In the shared DIY zone, visitors can choose character acrylic decorations to make zipper-bag key rings or use stickers to decorate eco bags.

The food zone offers menus that use characters and settings from each game. Items on sale include Genshin Impact's "Adventurer's special grilled chicken," Honkai: Star Rail's "Trailblazing Journey coffee," and Zenless Zone Zero's "A Cup of Leisure" set and "True Blues" set. Some menu items come with food picks featuring character images or a redeem code.

Cosplayers wearing character costumes were also easy to spot at the venue. Visitors took photos in front of large character statues and posed with other attendees.

A visitor in her 20s, Lee (이) surnamed only, who said she also attended Hoyoland last year, said, "I came to see Genshin Impact, but as I walk around I naturally end up looking at other game booths too." She added, "There are lots of things to try for each game and lots of people in cosplay, so it feels like enjoying a festival for the day."

A cosplay parade is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 4 and 5. During the event, the main stage will host performances and participatory programmes related to Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero, as well as lucky draws.

Partners including Google Play and Galaxy Store also set up separate spaces. At the Google Play booth, participants who complete missions are offered a chance to win HoYoverse goods through a mini-game, and all participants receive a photo card. At the Galaxy Store booth, visitors can use the Galaxy Z Fold8 series to experience Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail themes.

Mega Coffee also ran a space for advance reservations of goods made in collaboration with Honkai: Star Rail.

◆ Coming for one game and ending up with other IP... fandom connects in one place

What stood out at Hoyoland was that fans of each game gathered at one venue and enjoyed content from multiple intellectual properties together. Some popular experiences posted expected wait times of 60 to 120 minutes, but visitors moved between game booths to enjoy experiences and goods.

Hoyoland differs from typical game exhibitions that focus on hands-on demos of new titles. It is closer to a fan event where existing players re-experience the characters and worlds they like offline and expand what to enjoy through goods, food, performances and cosplay.

Another standout is that by placing multiple titles in one space, visitors who came for a specific game can naturally encounter other HoYoverse works as well.

Hoyoland is a fan event that HoYoverse has held at KINTEX since 2024, and this year marks its third year. Following Hoyoland, HoYoverse plans to take part in G-Star 2026 in Busan in November to continue offline touchpoints with domestic users.

A HoYoverse official said, "Hoyoland2026 is HoYoverse's comprehensive game festival where fans of HoYoverse's major games gather in one place to share their own memories and enjoyment." The official added, "We will continue to present diverse experiences that bring out the individuality of each title so it can develop into a signature festival that fans look forward to every year and build together."