- Over 180 Selected Works Unveiled, Beating 856 Entries from 57 Countries Worldwide
- Record-breaking exhibition scale… Simultaneous sales of business, offline, and online tickets
The final selections for the global indie game festival ‘Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 (hereinafter BIC 2026)’, jointly organized by Busan Metropolitan City, the Busan Information Industry Promotion Agency, and the Busan Indie Connect Festival Organizing Committee (hereinafter BIC Organizing Committee), have been announced.
The BIC Organizing Committee will announce the selections for the General, Rookie, and Connect Pick categories on its official website at 3 p.m. on the 13th, and begin sales of ‘Early Bird Tickets’ at the same time, which offer a 20% discount on all ticket types.
The official selections for BIC 2026 consist of approximately 180 titles from 41 countries. The General and Rookie categories were selected through evaluation by a panel of professional judges, while the Connect Picks were chosen through voting by the official BIC crew, ‘BIC Connectors’. Additionally, with the addition of non-competitive exhibits such as sponsor and partner games, attendees can experience a diverse range of indie games from around the world both in-person and online.
This selection was made amidst the fiercest competition in the festival’s history. A total of 856 entries from 57 countries were received for BIC 2026, an increase of approximately 44% compared to the 592 entries from the previous festival. This demonstrates that BIC has firmly established itself as a global festival platform leading the trends of indie games worldwide, extending beyond Asia.
Reservations for ‘Early Bird Tickets,’ which offer an even richer lineup at a reasonable price, will begin in earnest today (the 13th) at 3 p.m. This Early Bird Ticket is an opportunity to provide discount benefits to attendees who wish to check the revealed lineup and join the festival.
Tickets are categorized into three types: the ‘Business Pass,’ which supports business meetings and conference participation among industry professionals; the ‘Offline Festival Ticket (1-DAY/2-DAY),’ which allows direct gameplay of exhibited titles on-site; and the ‘Online Festival Ticket,’ which enables enjoyment of exhibited titles for approximately three weeks without spatial or temporal restrictions. In particular, the highly anticipated ‘Offline Festival 1-DAY Ticket’ will go on sale starting with this early bird pre-sale.
“BIC Organizing Committee Chairman Joo Sung-pil stated, ‘This year’s BIC 2026 has provided an opportunity to further expand the diversity and originality of indie games, with the largest number of entries in history from 57 countries around the world.’ He added, ‘As the lineup fully captures the experiments and attempts of global indie developers, I hope visitors will experience its breadth and depth firsthand.'”
Among the Early Bird tickets, online Festival Tickets and Business Passes can be reserved on the official BIC website until August 5, while offline Festival Tickets can be reserved until August 11. Applications for group discounts for institutions and organizations are also being accepted, and detailed information about the event and tickets can be found on the official website and social media channels.
