The G-STAR Organizing Committee (Chairman Kang Shin-Cheol, from now on referred to as the Organizing Committee) has released the information for the leading participating companies for ‘G-STAR 2024’ along with the confirmed main schedule and programs.
The organizing committee announced that this year’s G-STAR will provide new enjoyment and experiences through the existing BTC and BTB exhibitions, G-CON, which has shown rapid growth every year, and G-STAR Indie Showcase 2.0: Galaxy, which has been significantly expanded as G-STAR’s new killer content this year.
As of September 6, the number of applications for participation in ‘G-STAR 2024’ is 3,281 booths (2,364 booths in the BTC Hall, 917 booths in the BTB Hall), which is approximately 101% of the same point in 2023, when it was held on the most enormous scale ever. As a result of the great response to the on-site application that was attempted for the first time last year for stable exhibition operation and the active early application, the large booth area prepared in BTC Hall 1 was sold out 100% within 20 minutes of the opening of the early application.
Gang Shin-chul, the organizing committee chairman, said, “This year’s G-STAR marks its 20th anniversary, a significant milestone. It will be an important year to look at the new look of G-STAR and its future blueprint for the next 20 years.”
■ Various events held to commemorate G-Star’s 20th anniversary this year
To celebrate the 20th anniversary this year, a special event will be held for gamers to enjoy and make memories together.
We plan to create a unique space where you can look into the history of G-STAR, which has been developing steadily over a long period, as well as its vision and future. We will also plan interactive events where participants can directly participate to provide additional enjoyment.
Special events commemorating the 20th anniversary will soon be announced in detail on the G-STAR official website.
■ G-Star Indie Showcase 2.0: Galaxy Held with ‘Steam’
A new Indie Showcase will be held on a significantly larger scale than last year, with the expansion of the indie game exhibition area as one of the contents of the upcoming 20th anniversary of G-STAR.
This event, which is being held in collaboration with Steam, the most influential company in the gaming industry, has confirmed its title as G-Star Indie Showcase 2.0: Galaxy Powered by Steam and will introduce diverse, unique, and attractive indie games on a scale befitting its name.
In the specially prepared Steam Deck Experience Zone, we plan to organize games that require high specifications and games from various indie developers participating this time to be experienced directly through Steam Deck.
Meanwhile, Ricky Uy, CEO of Komodo, the official distributor of Steam Deck, the first in Korea to participate in this indie showcase, said, “I am glad to provide Korean gamers with the experience of easily enjoying a variety of great indie games anytime, anywhere with Steam Deck through our collaboration with G-Star this year.”
■ Nexon, celebrating its 30th anniversary, was selected as the primary sponsor for the first time in 7 years since 2017
Nexon, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, has been selected as the primary sponsor of G-Star 2024.
Nexon announced that it would be unveiling a variety of new products by creating a booth of 300, the largest of its kind at BTC this year, and that BTB will also participate with a booth of 30, the largest of its kind, to hold business meetings with many domestic and foreign companies.
In addition to participating in the exhibition, two sessions will be held at G-CON 2024. Neople CEO Myungjin Yoon will be the opening keynote speaker on the first day. Nexon Games General Producer Yongha Kim, who developed ‘Blue Archive,’ will also share his insights as a Track 1 speaker.
■ G-STAR’s killer content, G-CON 2024, a total of 3 tracks and 42 sessions completed
G-CON 2024, an essential side event of G-STAR that has increased yearly, will be held at the BEXCO Convention Hall in Busan from Thursday, November 14, to Friday, November 15.
Compared to last year’s lineup, which was evaluated as the best and featured speakers such as Shinji Mikami and Kongou Sen, this year’s lineup is expected to be of even higher quality and will greet the audience with diverse topics.
Keynote speakers for G-CON 2024, which will consist of a total of 42 sessions across three tracks, include Koei Tecmo General Producer Kou Shibusawa (President and CEO Yoichi Erikawa), a legend in the game industry and known for “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” Yoshinori Kitase, the director of highly acclaimed works such as “Final Fantasy VI” and “Final Fantasy VII” and currently working at Square Enix as the producer of the “Final Fantasy VII” Remake project, and Naoki Hamaguchi, the director who oversaw the development of “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.”
Also, Neople CEO Myungjin Yoon of ‘First Berserker: Kazan’, one of the most anticipated games of this year’s G-Star, and Mai Yoneyama, who is considered one of the best illustrators and animators of the current generation for her unique art style and level of completion, have been named as keynote speakers this year.
G-CON 2024, in which global chocolate bar brand Snickers® is participating as the official track sponsor and snack sponsor, will be held at the BEXCO Convention Hall in Busan for two days from November 14th to November 15th. The second speaker lineup will be revealed on September 19th.
■ G-Star Official App, Complete Renewal to Increase Functionality and Convenience
The official G-STAR application will greet visitors to this year’s G-STAR with a new look.
Through this renewal, beyond the simple function of providing existing information, the BTC ticket purchase and mobile ticket functions, which were most requested by visitors, can now be utilized within the application.
In addition, various convenient functions tailored to the type of G-STAR attendee will be added, such as a business card exchange function for BTB attendees, speaker information provision, and a scheduler function for BTC and conference attendees.
The renewed official G-STAR application will be available at the Play Store and App Store starting at the end of September.
■ Strengthening safety management, including 100% reservation of general admission tickets; general admission ticket reservations start on Tuesday, October 15
This year’s G-STAR will also maintain the 100% advance ticket reservation system introduced last year.
Based on the daily visitor trends in recent years since COVID-19 and last year’s cases, the plan is to determine the most efficient distribution scale of general visitors’ admission tickets this year to create a pleasant exhibition environment and ensure visitor satisfaction.
Following last year, we plan to expand security personnel this year to make G-STAR 2024 a safe event. We will establish a system to respond to all safety issues and develop a situation-specific response manual through close cooperation with the police, fire department, etc.
General admission tickets to G-STAR, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, can be purchased starting October 15 (Tuesday) through the G-STAR official website and application.
■ Application for participation in ‘G-STAR 2025’, on-site reception
Following last year, this year’s G-STAR will also implement an on-site registration policy to participate in next year’s exhibition. The organizing committee plans to maintain the policy keynote in that the on-site registration policy provides business continuity for participating companies and allows exhibition organizers to plan the entire event early.
This year, at G-STAR, registration for the entire exhibition area of G-STAR 25 will be conducted on both days, from Friday, November 15, to Saturday, November 16, using the dedicated registration desk installed at BEXCO and the G-STAR homepage registration system.
The BTC Hall can accept applications for a minimum of 40 booths and a maximum of 100 booths, while the BTB Hall can accept applications for a minimum of 10 booths and a maximum of 30 booths. Following last year, the highest discount rate will also be applied this year to encourage exhibition participation. Details will be officially announced in October through the website and other means.
