The Busan Indie Connect Festival Organizing Committee is drawing industry attention by partnering with YouTube to leverage a new platform, aiming to accelerate the global expansion and intellectual property growth of top-tier domestic indie games.

On August 7, the Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Jeon Jae-soo), the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency (Acting President Lee Jae-deok), and the Busan Indie Connect Festival Organizing Committee (Chairman Joo Sung-pil, hereafter 'BIC Organizing Committee') officially announced a strategic partnership with YouTube to expand game intellectual property. This partnership marks the first instance of high-quality domestic indie games being featured on YouTube Playables, setting a new benchmark for innovative collaboration.

YouTube Playables provides an environment where users can enjoy games instantly with a single click, without the need for app installations or separate downloads. Since its debut in November 2023 with 37 titles, the platform has grown rapidly into a next-generation casual game distribution hub, now boasting a lineup of hundreds of games. Recently, it introduced the 'Playables Builder' system, powered by Gemini 3 technology, which allows users to build games using only text or image prompts, significantly lowering the barriers to creation and development.

In response, the BIC Organizing Committee has taken a proactive approach, noting the evolution of YouTube’s platform from a passive viewing experience to an interactive one. They determined that a platform environment that connects directly with users is optimal for broadening the base of original indie games, which are not bound by specific genres. Based on this, they have selected seven titles from five companies through an internal review process and are currently onboarding them to the platform, allowing users in select countries to play these high-quality indie games immediately.

Multifaceted business support for indie developers is also underway. On August 14, a private networking event will be held for creators and developers to discuss strategic collaboration methods. On the same day, the Busan Indie Wave Conference, open to business pass holders, will feature a panel discussion on YouTube Playables, with participation from two of the onboarding developers and Supercent, a global leader in hyper-casual games.

Chairman Joo Sung-pil stated, "This collaboration with YouTube will serve as the most intuitive and innovative bridge for indie games to transcend the limitations of traditional distribution platforms and reach global users. We hope visitors will experience the infinite possibilities of indie games, and BIC will continue to be a reliable partner that drives new growth for developers."

Meanwhile, an online exhibition featuring various works from BIC 2026 officially opens on August 7, offering an early look at the upcoming showcase.