Busan Metropolitan City, Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency, and the Busan Indie Connect Festival Organization Committee (hereinafter referred to as the BIC Organization Committee) have wrapped up the online festival of the Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 (hereinafter BIC 2026), which ran for three weeks from August 7 to 28.

Now in its 12th year, BIC 2026 received 856 submissions from 57 countries, with 332 titles from 42 countries selected through rigorous screening for hybrid online and offline exhibition.

Accessibility was significantly boosted by establishing diversified online channels, including the official BIC website, the BIC 2026 Steam sale page, and the BIC 2026 x Stove collaboration page.

Total game downloads tallied during the online festival hit approximately 17,000, marking a solid 36.3% increase compared to the previous year. Total game views also rose by 14.1% to roughly 120,000.

The synergy with Steam was particularly remarkable. As the BIC 2026 Steam sale page secured a spot on the main banner, event impressions skyrocketed by a staggering 260.7% year-over-year to break past 8.01 million compared to last year's 2.22 million. Page views also surged by 665.3% to about 110,000 compared to roughly 14,000 previously.

The three-day offline festival also shattered previous records, drawing 42,249 visitors—a roughly 10.4% increase from last year—to mark the highest attendance in the event's history.

To celebrate the conclusion of the online festival, the BIC Organization Committee hosted an 'Online After Party' on the official integrated Discord channel. The festivities featured onsite sketch photo reviews, behind-the-scenes developer talks, award acceptance speeches, and interactive game trivia events.

Ju Seong-pil, chairperson of the BIC Organization Committee, shared thoughts on the matter: "We are incredibly grateful to have achieved stellar global milestones through Steam this year, spreading the word about BIC to players worldwide. We will continue to expand avenues where developers and players can closely communicate using diverse channels. Backed by the 'indie spirit' that fears no failure, we invite your continued interest and anticipation for next year's event as we press on with new challenges for the global indie ecosystem."