- A total of 11 game development teams participated for 3 days and nights from June 26 to 28 at the DPP Exhibition Center.
- One-stop business support ranging from development project presentations and demonstrations to practical IP sessions connecting with VCs and publishers.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Business Agency (SBA) announced that they successfully held the ‘2026 Seoul Indie Game Development Challenge,’ which discovers excellent indie games capable of actual market release through three days of intensive game development.
Held from June 26 to 28 at the DPP Iganseomun Exhibition Hall, this event was co-hosted with Google Play Indie Games (IGG) Korea to discover indie game brands capable of spreading Seoul’s culture to the world. 46 indie game developers from 11 teams, selected through a screening process, participated in this three-day challenge.
This challenge departed from the traditional one-off game jam format and was operated as a practical program focused on developing high-quality prototypes with commercial viability and market competitiveness. Participants creatively interpreted five key keywords—including ‘Seoul,’ ‘Royal Palace,’ ‘School,’ ‘Repetition,’ and ‘Cooperation’—which were revealed on the day of the event, and continued game development for 48 hours.
During the event, sponsor NC AI provided know-how on utilizing its proprietary generative AI platform ‘VARCO AI’ and supported participants with credits usable during the event, thereby increasing development efficiency.
On the 28th, the final day of the event, time was set aside for participating teams to present the results of their developed games and demonstrate them to one another. Participants exchanged objective feedback on the games through peer voting, creating a venue for exchange that went beyond competition.
In addition, an IR investment attraction session was held on-site to connect game development achievements with investment and commercialization. With representatives from major domestic venture capital (VC) firms and publishers in attendance, seven teams delivered pitches to attract investment and showcased their potential for commercialization.
The 11 indie game prototypes developed through this challenge will receive various follow-up support even after the event ends. Google Play Indie Game Group (IGG) Korea will support outstanding games with exhibition booths at the ‘2026 BIC’ IGG joint pavilion and opportunities for Google Awards nominations.
In addition, Smilegate plans to link user voting and feedback on the STOVE platform with support for feature-length titles for official release. Tumblbug will provide a 1:1 matching funding guide to all participating teams and support marketing slots worth 2 million won. Furthermore, the opportunity to exhibit at the Seoul Game Pavilion at ‘GES 2026,’ scheduled to be held at DPP in September, will also be provided.
Moon Gu-seon, Head of the Creative Industry Division at the Seoul Economic Promotion Agency, said, “I was deeply impressed by the potential of the developers who poured their passion into completing unique games that capture the colors of Seoul for three days and nights without rest,” adding, “We will continue to provide unsparing support for subsequent commercialization so that the infinite potential of indie games confirmed in this challenge can shine in the global market and lead to tangible results.”
