Seongnam Industrial Promotion Agency (Director Cha Gwang-seung) and Korea Mobile Game Association (Chairman Hwang Seong-ik) signed a business agreement to jointly host and host ‘2026 INDIECRAFT’.
As Indie Craft, which began in 2017, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, the two organizations, under the sponsorship of Seongnam City, plan to establish the strongest support system ever, including increasing the first-place prize money for the domestic category to 40 million won, establishing a new AI support program, expanding the Gamescom overseas booth, and holding an offline exhibition at Hyundai Department Store in Pangyo.
A 10-year journey, growing into the center of the K-indie ecosystem.
IndieCraft is Korea’s leading indie game support program. Launched in 2017, IndieCraft is a collaborative effort between Seongnam City, the Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency, and the Korea Mobile Game Association. It aims to discover K-indie games and support their entry into the global market. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, IndieCraft has established itself as a leading platform for the domestic indie game ecosystem.
The achievements thus far are also confirmed by figures. The offline exhibition, held in conjunction with Seongnam City’s flagship game culture festival, GXG, attracted approximately 68,000 visitors over the past two years, contributing to expanding the popularity of indie games. Furthermore, last year’s “2025 Indie Craft” showcased a record-breaking 292 entries, demonstrating the high level of interest and participation from domestic indie developers.
First-place prize money increased to 40 million won… Comprehensive support for developers expanded.
The biggest change to IndieCraft this year is the increase in the domestic top prize pool to 40 million won. This expanded support will motivate more promising developers to take on the challenge.
Support programs for selected developers have also become more diverse. The newly introduced AI special lecture program and AI-based 3D production platform support are designed to enhance developers’ productivity and competitiveness in response to the changing game development environment. Furthermore, support for mobile and console development and private networking days for inter-developer collaboration will be provided.
The business matching program connecting investors and publishers will be offered separately this year, with both domestic and international specialists. By segmenting the program to match partners based on the target region for game launch, the program is designed to move beyond simple interactions and lead to real business results.
Expanding the Gamescom booth in Germany, enhancing opportunities for global expansion.
‘2025 Indie Craft’ operated a promotional booth in the business space of Gamescom 2025, the world’s largest game exhibition, and successfully introduced selected developers to global publishers and investors.
This year, building on these experiences, we plan to further expand our booth by expanding the range of experiential devices and offering a separate networking program with international partners. This will provide even more opportunities to experience games firsthand and connect with global industry professionals.
GXG 2026 exhibition to be held at Hyundai Department Store in Pangyo
This year, the offline exhibition linked to GXG 2026 will also be significantly upgraded. Utilizing a special exhibition space at Hyundai Department Store Pangyo, the company plans to create an experiential exhibition environment that will satisfy both visitors and developers.
This year, in particular, we’re collaborating with Pleaders, a specialized FGT company, to introduce a system where expert evaluators will experience games on-site and select outstanding developers. This structure, which goes beyond simple exhibitions and combines expert evaluation with audience experience, will enhance the excitement and competitiveness of the event while also providing the selected developers with the added value of credible evaluation results.
Lee Deok-hee, Head of the Strategic Industry Division at the Seongnam Industrial Promotion Agency, said, “Indie Craft is an open platform where Seongnam City has grown alongside indie developers. This year, we have strengthened our support to help more developers compete in the global market. Seongnam City will continue to be a strong partner to help K-indie games become competitive in the global market.”
Hwang Seong-ik, Chairman of the Korea Mobile Game Association, said, “This year’s Indie Craft will be an even more meaningful opportunity for indie developers through increased prize money and strengthened practical support programs,” and added, “We will actively support the global expansion of K-indie games so that games can be recognized for their value as culture and art. We look forward to the participation of many indie developers.”
Submission schedule
Submissions for the 2026 Indiecraft competition will begin in late March. Further details will be available on the newly released official website. For inquiries regarding submissions and sponsorship, please contact the Indiecraft office (indiecraft@k-mga.or.kr).
