The Korea Indie Game Association (Chairman Song Chang-sik) announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Association of University Student Game Development Clubs (UNIDEV) (UniDev, Chairman Yoon Seong-min) for the sustainable growth of the indie game industry and the cultivation of future talent.
Through this agreement, the Korea Indie Game Association and Unidev have agreed to cooperate in various areas, including ▲educational cooperation to foster indie game developers, ▲employment and entrepreneurship through industry-academia collaboration, ▲hosting joint events such as game jams, conferences, seminars, and special lectures, ▲expanding practical projects based on portfolios, and ▲joint efforts to protect developer rights and revitalize the indie game market.
Unidev, the largest university-based game development association in Korea, is an organization voluntarily formed by university game development clubs across the country. Starting in 2023, it has been hosting the annual university student joint game exhibition ‘UNICON’ to showcase the creative ideas and technical skills of young developers.
With this MOU, the Korea Indie Game Association will provide various support to game development clubs affiliated with Unidev so that they can turn their game projects into employment or start-ups. Through events, mentoring, and practical education programs, the association plans to provide a wide range of opportunities to college students who wish to enter the game industry, and serve as a bridge to connect their creativity to the entire industry.
Hong Young-ki, Vice President of the Korea Indie Game Association, said, “Game development has become more accessible with the introduction of engines such as Unity and Unreal, but advanced game development is becoming more and more complex, so cooperation and collaboration are more important than anything else.” He added, “Through this agreement, we will do our best with the mindset of not stopping at simple learning, but fostering the driving force that will lead the Korean game industry.”
Unidev Chairman Yoon Sung-min said, “Students are the future of the Korean game industry, and their creative ideas that are not bound by conventions can suggest new directions for the industry.” He added, “Through this agreement, we will do our best to create an environment where students who dream of a career in the game industry can grow together and freely take on challenges.”
Meanwhile, starting with this agreement, we plan to first hold ‘UNICON’ together with the Korea Indie Game Association at the ‘Content Universe’ event scheduled for September 5th and 6th, and we plan to systematize various follow-up cooperation such as ‘joint development of education programs, creative support projects, and holding nationwide competitions. In particular, the creative experiments and challenging spirit of college student developers are expected to attract attention as a new growth engine for the indie game industry.
