The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereinafter the Ministry) has allocated 13.8 billion won in the 2027 government budget proposal to strengthen the foundation for indie game creation. This is an increase of 4.5 billion won from this year’s 9.3 billion won. The plan also includes expanding the number of supported titles from 130 this year to 200 next year.
On October 20, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young held the 3rd meeting of the Game Subcommittee of the Culture and Arts Policy Advisory Committee at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, and shared the 2027 budget plan and support direction for the game sector with the game industry.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism presented supporting the production of games that will lead the global market, fostering creative indie games, and cultivating young talent as key policy directions for the leap forward of ‘K-Game’.
Indie game support budget increased from 9.3 billion KRW to 13.8 billion KRW, with support scale reaching up to 200 titles
At this meeting, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism presented three policy directions for the next leap forward of ‘K-Game’. These are supporting the production of games with the potential to lead the global game industry, fostering creative and innovative indie games, and cultivating young talent to lead the future game industry.
Among these, the budget for the indie game sector has been significantly increased with the aim of strengthening the creative foundation, which is the root of the game industry. The budget for strengthening the indie game creation foundation will expand from 9.3 billion won this year to 13.8 billion won based on next year’s government proposal, and the scale of support for projects will also increase from 130 to 200.
Competition rate of approximately 11:1; support opportunities expanded as demand rises
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism explained that demand for support increased after switching the indie game support program to a competitive (audition) format this year. The competition rate this year was approximately 11 to 1. Reflecting this, the ministry plans to expand support opportunities next year while sufficiently supplementing evaluation schedules and personnel to enhance the substance of the program’s operations.
Linkage support programs worth noting for indie developers
In addition to the budget for supporting indie games, support programs available to small development teams are also being expanded.
The budget for the Global Game Hub Center will increase from 4.1 billion won this year to 6.4 billion won in next year’s government proposal. The number of companies eligible for office space support is planned to be expanded from 50 this year to 70 next year. 10.7 billion won has been allocated for distribution support, including the export-specialized voucher program ‘Game Plus’ and participation in overseas game expos.
The Youth Internship Program will increase from 1 billion won this year to 6.6 billion won in next year’s government proposal, supporting up to 500 people. The purpose is to provide on-the-job experience to young people preparing for employment or entrepreneurship in the game industry, while relieving game companies of the burden of securing manpower.
Large-scale production support ‘Global Frontier’ also newly established
Production support, which was centered on small and medium-sized games, is expanding to include large-scale games. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has established the ‘Global Frontier Production Support’ project and allocated 6 billion won in the 2027 budget.
Next year, two games will be selected and each will receive 3 billion won in support, and the selected games can receive up to a total of 6 billion won over a maximum of two years. The target games are those with production costs ranging from approximately 10 billion to 40 billion won, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to strengthen the backbone of the game industry through this initiative.
Discussion also on strengthening countermeasures against illegal private servers
The meeting also covered the current status of institutional improvements in the game industry. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it is implementing emergency blocking of illegal private game servers that infringe on game companies’ intellectual property (IP), and that the time taken from detection to a blocking request has been shortened from a maximum of 15 days to 3 to 5 days.
We are also cooperating with the National Assembly to pass the amendment to the Game Industry Promotion Act proposed last July. The amendment includes provisions for the introduction of punitive damages (up to five times), an emergency blocking system, the addition of Content Delivery Network (CDN) operators to the list of targets for corrective orders, increased penalties, and provisions for offenses that are not punishable against the victim’s will. A budget of 1.6 billion won (new) for the introduction of a system to automatically block illegal game content has also been reflected in the 2027 government proposal.
Minister Choi Hwi-young stated, “For the sustainable development of the industry, it is crucial to foster an ecosystem where games based on diverse ideas are created and companies and talent can grow together.” He added, “As next year’s government plan includes support needed in the field, ranging from game production to youth workforce, we will strengthen the foundation for the growth of the game industry.”
However, this amount is based on the government’s proposal and may change during the National Assembly’s budget deliberation process.
Key Details of the 2027 Indie Game Support Budget Proposal
| item | this year | 2027 Government Proposal |
|---|---|---|
| Budget to strengthen the foundation for indie game creation | 9.3 billion won | 13.8 billion won |
| Indie game support scale | 130 | 200 |
| Global Game Hub Center Budget | 4.1 billion won | 6.4 billion won |
| Global Game Hub Center Residency Support | 50 companies | 70 companies |
| Youth Internship Budget | 1 billion won | 6.6 billion won (maximum 500 people) |
| Overseas distribution support (Game Plus, etc.) | – | 10.7 billion won |
| Global Frontier Production Support | – | 6 billion won (Newly established, 3 billion won each for 2 games) |
