The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) are set to host the 'Console Game Developer Conference 2025' on November 6th and 7th at the DoubleTree by Hilton Seoul Pangyo.

Billed as the first-ever global console game developer conference in the country, the event aims to offer a new turning point for local developers who have long persevered with limited infrastructure, while serving as a hub for international networking.

Industry leaders from across the global console landscape are descending on Korea for the event. The sessions are meticulously structured to cover the entire lifecycle of console gaming—from initial concept and development to commercialisation—featuring a roster of experts with boots-on-the-ground experience.

On November 6th, the keynote will be delivered by Shuhei Yoshida, the former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment who spent 30 years steering the PlayStation brand and nurturing the indie ecosystem. He will be followed by Keiji Inafune, the producer behind million-sellers like 'Mega Man' and 'Resident Evil 2'; Emmanuel Rosier, the lead console analyst at data giant Newzoo; and Jaeho Hwang, CEO of Mintrocket, the studio behind the 5-million-selling hit 'Dave the Diver'.

The second day, November 7th, kicks off with a keynote from Yoshiki Okamoto, the former Capcom producer who turned 'Street Fighter 2' and the Japanese sensation 'Monster Strike' into juggernauts. Other speakers include Yuichiro Shimada of SEGA Publishing Korea (SPK); Matteo Sapio, CSO of poncle, the studio behind the indie hit 'Vampire Survivors'; and Katsuhiko Hayashi, head of the Famitsu Group, who will share insights on industry shifts and strategies for breaking into the Japanese market.

The lineup continues with Masayuki Itani and Kousuke Masaki from Happinet—the key Japanese physical distributor and the outfit behind the Japanese release of 'Lies of P'—who will dive into the intricacies of the Japanese retail market. Furthermore, Chang-sik Koo of CFK and Seung-hyun Yoo of Wonder Potion, developer of 'SANABI', will offer a candid look at the hurdles and solutions facing domestic developers in the console space.

Hyun-seok Yoo, Acting President of the Korea Creative Content Agency, noted, "This conference was designed to foster information sharing and global networking to revitalise the Korean console gaming scene," adding, "We hope this serves as a pivotal moment for our developers to strengthen their competitive edge and lead on the world stage."

Registration for the 2025 Console Game Developer Conference (CGDC 2025) is available via the official website and is open to everyone free of charge.