The Busan Indie Connect Festival Organizing Committee (BIC Organizing Committee) announced the schedule for the global indie game festival ‘Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026’ (BIC 2026) on the 22nd.

Now in its 12th year, BIC 2026 will begin its journey with an online festival from August 7 to 28. The offline event, the pinnacle of the festival, will be held August 14 to 16 at BEXCO Exhibition Center 1, Hall 2, in Busan.

BIC 2025, held last year, presented 283 exhibits from 32 countriesthe largest scale everand attracted 38,273 visitors, solidifying its stature as a global indie game platform. It was positively received as a venue where developers and users at home and abroad communicated without boundaries and shared the industrial potential and artistic value of indie games.

BIC 2026 intends to broaden the indie game experience for visitors and expand opportunities for developers to enter global markets through a hybrid operation that organically links online and offline. The offline festival this year, held during the Liberation Day holiday, is designed to enhance accessibility for the general public while enabling industry stakeholders to continue business networking and on-site exchange on a more relaxed schedule. Through this, BIC is expected to move beyond a simple exhibition and continue its path as a global platform where the development, distribution, and exchange of indie games form a virtuous cycle.

Meanwhile, recruitment of early sponsors for BIC 2026 runs until March 9. Early sponsors, who join from the initial planning stage of the festival, can strengthen their connection with the indie game ecosystem through prominent exposure across the event and cooperative structures. The BIC Organizing Committee plans to operate sponsorship as a win-win model that goes beyond simple support to jointly promote the spread of indie game culture and sustainable industry growth.

Detailed operational plans for BIC 2026 will be released sequentially.

Ju Sung-pil, Chair of the BIC Organizing Committee, said, “This year, BIC focuses on strengthening its role as a global hub where indie game stakeholders around the world communicate,” and, “We will enable developers and gamers to engage in deep exchanges in an optimal environment, and, together with sponsors and partners, build a sustainable indie ecosystem.”