The Korea Mobile Game Association (Chairman Hwang Seong-ik) announced that it will hold the ‘2026 Korea Indie Game Forum’ at Gyeonggi Content Korea Lab on April 3.
This forum was planned to review the current state of South Korea’s indie game ecosystem and to create a space for exchange where creation, business, and community are naturally connected. It will discuss the creative challenges of indie developers and the direction of the industry’s sustainable growth. NC AI and Playnanoo are participating as sponsors for the event. The forum consists of Part 1 and Part 2 sessions, as well as networking.
Part 1 kicks off the event with an opening speech titled “The Path Korean Indie Games Have Walked” by Lee Jung-yeop, Chairman of the Judging Committee of the Busan Indie Connect Festival. This will be followed by lectures in succession: ▲ “Memoirs of the Indie Game : Right Now, Wrong Then” by Yoo Seung-hyun, CEO of Wonder Potion Co., Ltd.; ▲ “Shape of Dreams: The Choices That Killed and Saved Us” by Shim Eun-seop, CEO of Lizard Smoothie Co., Ltd.; and ▲ “Indie Design Notes: Discovery, Trust, Fandom” by Lim Kwon-young, CEO of Studio BBB. After the lectures, a special presentation by NC AI is scheduled, followed by a Part 1 panel discussion chaired by Chairman Lee Jung-yeop with the speakers.
The second session kicks off with an opening lecture by Thisisgame CEO Lim Sang-hoon titled “Three Types of Successful Steam Game Development Teams.” This is followed by presentations on “Verifying Game Quality Through Prototyping in the AI Era” by Banjiha Games CEO Lee Yu-won, “Fleadus: A Game Company’s Lifecycle Partner” by Flleadus CEO Lim Chan-young, and “AI-Native Game Cases, Technological Trends, and Next Choices” by freelance creator Shin Ki-heon. This will be followed by a special lecture by Playnanoo CEO Maeng Sang-young, and the session will conclude with a second-part panel discussion moderated by Kim Hyun-kyu, Senior Vice President of the Korea Mobile Game Association.
After all lectures and discussions conclude, a networking session will follow to facilitate smooth information exchange and communication among attendees. Hwang Seong-ik, President of the Korea Mobile Game Association, stated, “I hope this forum serves as an opportunity for Korea’s small and medium-sized game industry and indie game ecosystem to take another leap forward,” adding, “The Association will continue to strive for the development of the industry.”
The Association plans to continuously expand thematic conferences centered on major industry issues such as global expansion, subculture, and IP convergence. By organically integrating the AI and indie game conferences held so far, the Association plans to organize a unified conference by the end of 2026 to provide an overview of the direction and future vision of the game industry.
