The BIC Festival 2026 awards ceremony concluded August 16 on the main stage at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1 (Hall 2) in Busan, distributing recognition across General and Rookie divisions with prizes topping ₩10 million for the Grand Prix and new benefits including complimentary booth placement at next year’s festival for major award recipients.
The on-site program is complete. Online exhibition continues at bicfest.org through August 28.
Grand Prix and Rising Star
General Division Grand Prix: GARBAGE COUNTRY — Noio (₩10,000,000 + 2027 complimentary booth)
Rookie Division Rising Star: Yūrei — Team Yūrei (₩5,000,000 + 2027 complimentary booth)
GARBAGE COUNTRY from Noio takes the festival’s highest honor in the general competition — a result that makes the game one to watch for whatever commercial release follows the BIC recognition. Yūrei from Team Yūrei earned Rising Star in the Rookie Division, where it had already won the Audio category before being elevated to the top honor.
Jury Prize
General Division: Tokatonton: One-Armed Blacksmith — Semo Games (₩5,000,000 + 2027 complimentary booth)
Rookie Division: UpBRELLA — ABW (2027 complimentary booth)
Full Award Results
General Division — Category Awards:
Social Impact: 봄이 돌아온 학교 (Spring Returns to School) — Chorok Woosan
Audio: Witch’s Lounge — Wolsang Studio
Casual: Cat Squeeze — Maowor Workshop
Action: Seven Trials — Newcore Games
Narrative: Lea, Lars, Samson and Ivy. Their One Year — Idun Studio
Experimental: Bojonggye — Banjihwa Games Inc.
Game Design: Necrosweeper — Studio An
Art: Finding Polka — lidlocks
Jury Prize: Tokatonton: One-Armed Blacksmith — Semo Games
Rookie Division — Category Awards:
Social Impact: Reptilian to the National Assembly! — MyTrix
Audio: Yūrei — Team Yūrei
Casual: Choozle! — Byeolmuri
Action: Amalgam — Triple Kill Interactive
Narrative: This World Syndrome — (Yi)sekai Research Lab
Experimental: Folder Escape — Team Crux
Game Design: Soom — Smallboots
Art: Soom — Smallboots
Jury Prize: UpBRELLA — ABW
The Notable Names
Several games appearing in these results have prior coverage connections. Finding Polka (lidlocks) — the Japanese solo developer’s ballpoint-pen walking adventure about a dog named Polka that we covered ahead of its August 12 release — took the Art award in the General Division, the category where the game’s visual identity is most definitively its own. Bojonggye (Banjihwa Games) won both the Experimental category and the ₩30 million first prize at the BIC x Google Play IndieFest Awards (covered separately), making it the festival’s strongest double performer. Seven Trials (Newcore Games), which appeared in the BIC x Google Play IndieFest Top 10 pitch stage, earned the Action category award.
HIPS N NOSES (PepperStones) — covered at ChinaJoy and again at the IndieFest Awards Top 10 — appeared in the General Division finals but did not place in category awards.
The Structural Changes
The prize structure introduced this year — cash awards alongside guaranteed complimentary booth placement at BIC 2027 for major award recipients — represents a shift from recognition-only awards toward awards with ongoing commercial support. A studio that wins at BIC 2026 and returns to BIC 2027 without exhibition costs is better positioned to use the second appearance for business development and community engagement rather than managing the financial burden of booth participation.
BIC organizing chair Joo Sung-pil noted: “The new prize money and booth support are designed to provide real stepping stones for developers’ growth.” Jury committee chair Lee Jeong-yeop acknowledged the quality of submissions: “There were many highly polished entries, and the jury reached its decisions only after deep deliberation.”
What Continues
The online exhibition at bicfest.org runs through August 28 — all selected games, including award winners, remain playable. The festival’s physical days are complete; the discovery access extends another twelve days digitally.
