'2026 Play Expo (PlayX4)' will hold an 'Export Consultation' for two days from May 21st to 22nd at the B2B Hall, Hall 5A, KINTEX Exhibition Hall 1. This event is expected to function as a key business hub for domestic excellent game companies to overcome the threshold of overseas markets and expand their contacts with global investors.
This year's Play Expo B2B pavilion put a lot of effort into ensuring both size and substance. A total of 500 domestic and foreign developers and buyers confirmed participation, and an online-offline hybrid business matching system was introduced to overcome physical constraints. It is a structure that allows not only buyers who have visited the site in person, but also global publishers residing overseas to meet with domestic developers in real time.
"A place for collaboration beyond a simple meeting" New
The biggest feature of this year's event is that it has significantly strengthened the mechanisms for building 'sustainable partnerships' beyond simple business meetings. To this end, the organizers established a new ‘Networking Program’ and ‘Indie Award’.
The newly introduced networking program provides an opportunity for both B2B and B2C participating companies to freely interact, breaking away from the rigid consultation space. The purpose is to maximize 'accidental business opportunities' that involve sharing information between participating companies as well as discovering unexpected collaboration partners.
In addition, various events such as 'Indie Awards' voting and announcements and lucky draws are prepared to boost the morale of small and medium-sized and indie game companies and publicize excellent content. In particular, through the newly introduced private enterprise cooperation partnership, participating companies are expected to receive more generous support benefits and marketing support than before.
📈Advanced support measures: FGT to KOTRA Until consultation
Practical support programs for participating companies are also noticeable. The one that is receiving the most attention is ‘User Focused Testing (FGT).’ The FGT, which will be held for 4 days for a total of 40 selected games, is a valuable opportunity to directly collect feedback from actual users who visited the Play Expo site. The developer verifies the marketability of the game before its official release, and users experience unreleased new games in advance and participate in the development process, creating a virtuous cycle.
Sessions will also be prepared to strengthen investment attraction capabilities. We select 20 development companies and provide professional consulting, and help lead to actual investment commitments through IR presentations and Q&A for investment companies. All of these processes are open to observation by anyone who visits the export consultation center, so it is expected to be a good opportunity for experts who want to understand industry trends.
In addition, the 'Overseas Investment Company Online Consultation', operated in close cooperation with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), will provide practical guidelines to small and medium-sized game companies thirsty for overseas sales channels. By leveraging the capabilities of KOTRA, which has a global network, it is possible to have in-depth conversations with buyers from various regions such as North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
🌏Interaction with global game shows Stage
This year's Play Expo will feature booths for world-class global game shows such as the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) and China Joy, and promising overseas developers will directly participate and collaborate with domestic companies. This reflects the will to go beyond domestic game companies going overseas and create a venue for exchange between the global game ecosystem centered on the Korean market.
On the weekend, game clubs in the metropolitan area, which are the leading players in the future game industry, take over the baton. In this area, where about 40 projects are displayed, you can get a glimpse of the fresh ideas and passion of student developers. In particular, a separate IR pitching session has been prepared for them, and it is expected to be used as a channel for large game companies and investors to discover promising 'future star developers' in advance.
Meanwhile, detailed information about 2026 Play Expo B2B participation and detailed programs can be found on the Play Expo official website.
Comments (0)