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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, along with the Busan Information Industry Promotion Agency under Acting President Lee Jae-deok, and the Busan Indie Connect Festival Organizing Committee headed by Chairman Joo Seong-pil, held the awards ceremony for the Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 (BIC 2026). The event took place on the main stage of Hall 2, Exhibition Hall 1, at BEXCO.
This year’s awards were split into two categories, the General Category for established developers and the Rookie Category for student developers. The judging committee reviewed entries carefully before handing out the honors. Organizers also expanded the support given to winners this year, adding prize money for several categories along with a free exhibition booth for the following year’s festival. Every winning team received a medal and a digital emblem, while the Grand Prize and Judges’ Prize winners also received cash prizes and the free booth benefit.
The top honor in the General Category, the Grand Prix, went to Noio for GARBAGE COUNTRY, earning the studio 10 million won and a free booth next year. In the Rookie Category, the top award, Rising Star, was given to Team Yūrei for their game Yūrei, which came with 5 million won and a free booth for next year’s festival.
𝗕𝗜𝗖 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻부산인디커넥트페스티벌 2026 일반부문 수상작 & 파이널리스트 🏆✨
수상하신 모든 스튜디오 및 개발자분들, 진심으로 축하드립니다!
Introducing the winners and finalists of the General Division at BIC 2026.… pic.twitter.com/uNHzvuDUDE
— BIC Festival 2026 (@BIC_Festival) August 16, 2026
The Jury Prize, which recognizes originality and artistic merit, was awarded to Semo Games for Tokatonton: One-Armed Blacksmith in the General Category, earning the team 5 million won and a free booth. In the Rookie Category, the Jury Prize went to ABLUE for UpBRELLA, which comes with a free booth for next year.
Winners were also chosen across nine additional categories covering different genres and areas of game development. In the General Category, Green Umbrella won Social Impact for School Where Spring Returned, Wolsang Studio won Audio for Witch’s Lounge, Maowo Studio won Casual for Cat Squeeze, Newcore Games won Action for Seven Trials, Idun Studio won Narrative for Lea, Lars, Sampson, and Ivy. Their Year, Banjiha Games Co., Ltd. won Experimental for Preservation System, Studio An won Game Design for Necrosweeper, and lidlocks won Art for Finding Polka.
In the Rookie Category, MyTrix won Social Impact for Reptilians to the National Assembly!, Team Yūrei also picked up the Audio award for Yūrei, Star Cluster won Casual for Choozle!, Triple Kill Interactive won Action for Amalgam, (This) World Research Institute won Narrative for This World Syndrome, Team Crux won Experimental for Folder Escape, and Smallboots won both Game Design and Art for Soom.
𝗕𝗜𝗖 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻부산인디커넥트페스티벌 2026 일반부문 수상작 & 파이널리스트 🏆✨
수상하신 모든 스튜디오 및 개발자분들, 진심으로 축하드립니다!
Introducing the winners and finalists of the General Division at BIC 2026.… pic.twitter.com/uNHzvuDUDE
— BIC Festival 2026 (@BIC_Festival) August 16, 2026
Joo Sung-pil, Chairman of the BIC Organizing Committee, thanked the judging panel for finding strong games among the 856 entries submitted this year. He said he hopes the newly added prize money and booth support give developers a practical boost as they continue to grow, and added that the committee will keep looking for new ways to support creators going forward.
Lee Jeong-yeop, Chairman of the Judging Subcommittee, said there were many high-quality entries this year, which made the judging process a difficult one. He added that win or lose, he hopes BIC gives all creators a chance to connect with each other, gain experience, and move their work forward.
While the offline festival at BEXCO has wrapped up, BIC 2026 continues online. People can still play and check out the winning and submitted games through the official BIC website, bicfest.org, until Friday, August 28.
