Korea's biggest game fair G-Star kicks off in Busan
The logo of G-Star is seen at BEXCO in Haeundae District, Busan, Nov. 14. Yonhap
G-Star, Korea's biggest annual gaming trade show, kicked off in the southeastern port city of Busan on Thursday, its organizer said.
This year's show, hosted by Korean game maker Nexon, will operate a total of 3,281 booths under the theme "Expand Your Horizons" at BEXCO until Sunday, according to the organizing committee.
Major domestic companies, including Nexon, NCSOFT, Krafton and Netmarble, will introduce their latest marquee titles, and key leaders from global gaming companies will deliver speeches on the recent trends in the games industry at a conference, which will take place in the first two days.
"Game has evolved into a popular pastime activity enjoyed by some 63 percent of Koreans and is playing a significant role in solving various social issues," President Yoon Suk Yeol said via a video message congratulating the 20th anniversary of the event.
"The government will improve unreasonable regulations and support the development of games based on cutting-edge technologies to bolster the Korean game industry's competitiveness in the global market," he said.
During the event, Nexon plans to showcase a series of its new game titles, including Project Overkill, an action role-playing game (RPG), and The First Berserker: Khazan, mainly targeting the Western market.
Netmarble will take the wraps off two new games — Game of Thrones: Kingsroad and MONGIL: Star Dive.
Krafton will unveil its military shooting game, Project ARC, and life simulation game, Dinkum Together, for the first time.
Lionheart Studio, well known for developing MMORPG ODIN: Valhalla Rising, will also participate in G-Star for the first time and showcase new works, such as Valhalla Survival and Project Q.
Meanwhile, Netmarble's Solo Leveling: ARISE, a game based on a Korean webtoon, won the 2024 Korea Game Awards held the previous day. (Yonhap)