Smilegate announced on Tuesday the 20th that it will participate in the ‘Taipei Game Show 2026’ held at the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei, Taiwan from the 29th to February 1st through the global game platform Stove.
Held annually since 2003, the Taipei Game Show is the leading comprehensive gaming event in the Asia-Pacific region, attracting over 350,000 attendees annually. With a focus on both B2C and B2B, it serves as a hub for exchange between global developers and users. It is considered a key indicator of gaming industry trends in Asia, serving as a hub for new game releases and business meetings.
Indie House spotlights K-indie games as its main sponsor.
Smilegate will participate as the main title sponsor of “Indie House” in the B2C zone at this event. Indie House is a space where indie game developers from around the world can showcase their latest works and interact directly with users, establishing itself as a leading platform for observing global indie game trends. Each year, over 100 indie game development teams from dozens of countries participate, serving as a gateway for emerging developers to enter the global market.
Smilegate will operate a Stove brand pavilion within Indie House, offering visitors a chance to experience K-indie games firsthand and also experience the platform’s various benefits. The booth will feature a game experience zone, developer meeting space, and Stove platform information corner, and visitors will be able to receive special discount coupons and merchandise on-site.
A lineup of six distinctive K-indie games has been unveiled.
Smilegate will be operating this booth under the theme of ‘STOVE PLAY TOUR’ and the slogan ‘Open Smilegate, Explore K-Game Worlds’. Through this, a total of 6 indie works will be presented, including ▲’Golmokgil: Ghost’, which is gaining attention as a Korean horror game, ▲’Storm Maid’, ▲’Saniyang Lab’, ▲’Over-immersion Prohibition 2: Summer Pocha’, ▲’Archetype Blue’, and ▲’Player Who Can’t Level Up’ from the Smilegate Publishing indie game lineup.
We planned this event to introduce works with different genres and sensibilities, such as horror, roguelike, simulation, and adventure, in one place, so that local users can experience the wide spectrum of K-indie games firsthand.
Strengthening platform competitiveness through online and offline linked marketing
Furthermore, Smilegate will not only hold this game show as an offline exhibition, but will also host an online showcase linked to the Stove platform. From the 28th of this month to the 1st of next month, games from the Taipei Game Show will be playable directly on Stove, and limited-time discount coupons will also be available during the event.
Additionally, the online showcase will also feature behind-the-scenes footage of each game’s development and developer interviews, allowing global users who were unable to attend the offline event to experience the charm of K-indie games.
This strategy aims to intuitively convey Stove’s publishing competitiveness and strengths as a commerce platform to users by presenting a flow that begins with platform visits, continues with artwork exploration, and then offers a personalized experience. The industry anticipates this online-offline integration strategy will become Stove’s key differentiator.
Presenting a Vision for the Indie Game Ecosystem at the Asia Pacific Game Summit
During the Taipei Game Show, the Asia Pacific Game Summit will feature a presentation titled “A New Path for Indie Game Growth and Success: The Smilegate Stove Platform and Ecosystem.” The presentation will focus on growth strategies for global indie game creators through the Stove platform, share examples of entering the Asian and global markets, and present a vision for building an ecosystem that grows alongside creators.
The presentation is expected to highlight specific partnership plans, including Stove’s developer support program, marketing collaboration model, and revenue sharing structure. In particular, interest is expected in localization support and publishing services for indie developers seeking to enter the Greater China market.
A triple-take in the Greater China market, accelerating the global expansion roadmap.
This marks STOVE’s third offline exhibition targeting users in the Greater China region, following WePlay Expo 2025 in Shanghai, China, and G-EIGHT 2025 in Taiwan last year. By linking these events, Smilegate is expanding its reach to users in Asia and accelerating the global expansion of K-indie games.
A gaming industry insider analyzed, “The Greater China market is one of the most important markets considering its population size and number of game users,” and “Smilegate’s continuous offline exhibitions to increase local awareness appear to be part of a long-term market securing strategy.”
Through this, Smilegate plans to strengthen the competitiveness and publishing capabilities of its Stove platform, and continue its expansion beyond Asia into global markets such as Europe and North America. A company representative stated, “We will do our best to showcase the excellence of K-indie games at the Taipei Game Show and establish Stove as a global platform connecting creators and users.”
