{"rewrite":{"id":"r_db261e6ab28413c04557f4b6","clusterId":"c_e406a1c8a160a4d5d5f1b181","slug":"bic-2026-opens-in-busan-with-record-856-submissions","model":"deepseek-v4-flash:free","headline":"BIC 2026 Opens in Busan With Record 856 Submissions","summary":"Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 opened August 14 at BEXCO Hall 2, running three days with a business day and two festival days. The event drew a record 856 submissions from 57 countries, up about 44 percent from last year's 592. Around 180 works from 41 countries were selected. The conference featured keynote talks by Nexon Games' Kim Yong-ha and yosp CEO Shuhei Yoshida. Grand Prix finalists include Japan's Finding Polka.","whyItMatters":"The record submission count and expanded conference lineup signal BIC's growing pull as a global indie showcase, with Japan represented among the top award finalists.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe offline portion of Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 opened at BEXCO Hall 2 in Busan, South Korea, on August 14. The event runs three days, with the first day reserved for business and the festival days open to the general public on August 15 and 16. An online festival began August 7 and continues through August 28.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis year\u0026#39;s theme is \u0026#34;Buff Your Indie Spirit.\u0026#34; The exhibition floor is divided by development stage rather than genre or country, with four zones: DEMO, BETA, COMING SOON, and RELEASED. Many titles are having their first public showing at the event.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe concurrent Busan Indie Wave Conference, held for the second year, opened with a keynote by Kim Yong-ha, executive project director at Nexon Games, who spoke on building immersive worlds. Shuhei Yoshida, CEO of yosp, joined a session on how publishers view indie games. The BIC AWARDS 2026 Grand Prix finalists were also announced, including Finding Polka by Japan\u0026#39;s lidlocks.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"BIC 2026 is open in Busan with a record 856 submissions from 57 countries. The conference featured Nexon's Kim Yong-ha and Shuhei Yoshida. Grand Prix finalists include Japan's Finding Polka.","twitterPost":"BIC 2026 opened in Busan with a record 856 submissions, up 44% from last year. Conference talks included Nexon's Kim Yong-ha and Shuhei Yoshida. Grand Prix finalists announced, including Japan's Finding Polka.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 opened with a record 856 submissions from 57 countries. The conference featured talks from Nexon Games' Kim Yong-ha and Shuhei Yoshida. Grand Prix finalists include Japan's Finding Polka.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"4Gamer.net\",\"url\":\"https://www.4gamer.net/games/991/G999110/20260815003/\",\"title\":\"韓国最大級のインディーゲームイベント「BIC2026」開幕。併催カンファレンスには，吉田修平氏や「ブルアカ」のキム・ヨンハ氏が登壇［BIC2026］\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":5220,"outputTokens":702,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1786769639,"createdAt":"2026-08-15T04:45:10.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-08-15T04:46:44.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-15T04:45:10.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_e406a1c8a160a4d5d5f1b181","canonicalTitle":"韓国最大級のインディーゲームイベント「BIC2026」開幕。併催カンファレンスには，吉田修平氏や「ブルアカ」のキム・ヨンハ氏が登壇［BIC2026］","representativeArticleId":"a_dfe351b93f0c4bbbd3edadcc","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"吉田修平\",\"キム・ヨンハ\"],\"type\":\"event\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-08-15T02:39:59.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-08-15T02:39:59.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-15T04:46:44.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"4Gamer.net","url":"https://www.4gamer.net/games/991/G999110/20260815003/","title":"韓国最大級のインディーゲームイベント「BIC2026」開幕。併催カンファレンスには，吉田修平氏や「ブルアカ」のキム・ヨンハ氏が登壇［BIC2026］"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026"],"studios":[],"people":["吉田修平","キム・ヨンハ"],"type":"event","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}