G-STAR 2025, held at BEXCO in Busan from the 13th to the 16th, pulled in an impressive 202,000 visitors.

In keeping with recent shifts, the event ditched on-site ticket sales entirely, opting for a pre-booking system. The G-STAR Organizing Committee insisted this was all in the name of safety, focusing heavily on managing crowd density inside the halls and keeping the flow of visitors smooth in the outdoor plazas.

Organised by the Korea Association of Game Industry and co-hosted by the G-STAR Organizing Committee and the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency, the event boasted a combined total of 3,269 booths across B2C and B2B sectors.

Over at BEXCO’s Exhibition Center 1, NCSOFT made a splash by unveiling five new titles: Aion 2, Cinder City, Horizon Steel Frontiers, LLL, and Time Seekers.

Google Korea set up a PC demo zone for Cookie Run: OvenSmash and kept the energy high with appearances from celebrities, including 'Keria' Ryu Min-seok, the winner of the 2025 League of Legends World Championship.

Netmarble brought a heavy lineup including Evilbane, The Solo Leveling: Karma, The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin, and Mongil: Star Dive, complete with star-studded stage events both inside and outside the venue.

Webzen focused on hands-on experiences for Gates of Gates and Terbis, while also running a theme-park-style zone for their 'Webzen Friends' IP. Meanwhile, Krafton constructed a dedicated space to bring the world of Palworld Mobile to life, offering the very first public demo on the floor.

Gravity, occupying 70 booths, showcased a staggering 18 games alongside a giveaway zone and a Ragnarok merchandise shop. Battlestate Games also leaned into the gritty atmosphere of Escape from Tarkov with a military-themed experience zone.

Other notable appearances included Play Shop (Ojin) showing off PlayStation titles like Gran Turismo 7 and Split Fiction, Wemade Connect presenting N.O.A.H, and Nuverse displaying Bleach: Soul Resonance. Neowiz kept things interesting with a demo zone for SANABI.

The B2C hall in Exhibition Center 2 hosted a heavy-hitting international contingent. Bandai Namco Entertainment celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Ace Combat series, while Blizzard curated an Overwatch 2 themed experience. SEGA/Atlus treated fans to artwork displays and demos for the Persona series and Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Warhorse Studios made a timely appearance to mark the final DLC release of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Up on the third floor of Exhibition Center 2, the B2B hall ran a hybrid operation from the 13th to the 15th. Organisers expanded the networking lounge—the most frequented spot for B2B attendees—and cleverly ringed it with smaller booths to maximise deal-making opportunities. Over three days, 2,190 paid buyers registered their attendance for business consultations.

G-CON has firmly cemented itself as the beating heart of G-STAR, and this year’s narrative-themed event was no exception. With 16 sessions featuring global developers dissecting the past and future of storytelling, the venue—despite being twice the size of last year—remained packed to the rafters throughout.

The lineup of Japanese legends was stellar: Yuji Horii of Dragon Quest, Katsura Hashino and Shigenori Soejima of Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio, Yoko Taro of NieR: Automata, and Hideki Kamiya of Ōkami all took the stage. They were joined by the likes of Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill) and Shinichi Sakamoto (Innocent) to discuss the intersection of music, visuals, and narrative art.

The Western front was equally represented, with insights coming from Jennifer Svedberg-Yen of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Robert Kurvitz of Disco Elysium, Martin Klima of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Josh Sawyer of Fallout: New Vegas, Jesscia Chua of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Tate Mosesian of Uncharted 4.

Domestic voices were represented by Neowiz Round 8’s Sang-kyun Lee, Jin-ho Jin, Ji-won Choi, and narrative director Byung-soo Kwon, who shared their own creative methodologies. Netflix’s Good News director Byun Sung-hyun and King of Kings director Jang Sung-ho were also in attendance.

The G-STAR Indie Showcase 2.0: Galaxy spanned 400 booths, drawing in 80 developers from 20 countries, supported by Steam Deck (Komodo), Unity, and Discord. With 41 international studios from nations like Germany, Spain, the US, China, and Japan, it was a truly global affair, featuring a dedicated Steam Deck demo zone for titles like The First Berserker: Khazan and Little Nightmares 3.

Finally, G-STAR TV’s online broadcast kicked off with 'G-STAR Ready Play' to preview the big reveals, followed by live coverage of the Indie Showcase, the Indie Awards, the Cosplay Awards, and the G-STAR Cup.

Cho Young-gi, Chairman of the G-STAR Organizing Committee, remarked, "By crafting an event rich in narrative and immersive experiences—both through demos and interactive content—we were able to provide a much deeper level of engagement for our visitors. It was the unwavering support and participation of our partners and every single attendee that made this a success."

He added, "We will continue to seek out new formats and ways to engage, ensuring that G-STAR keeps evolving with every passing year."