Gyeonggi Province's 'PlayX4 2021' Game Expo Already Drawing Heat as Region's Largest Convergence Gaming Show

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] The region's largest convergence gaming show 'PlayX4 2021' launched its official homepage (playx4.or.kr) on the 8th and has begun full-scale preparation for the event.

PlayX4, hosted by Gyeonggi Province and organized by the Gyeonggi Content Agency and KINTEX, will hold its export consultation (B2B) and exhibition (B2C) separately in May and July this year.

The 'PlayX4 2021 Online Export Consultation (B2B)' will be held from May 10 to 14. Since pre-registration began on the 16th of last month, domestic and international buyers from 111 companies across 28 countries including China, Japan, Europe, North America, and the Middle East have already confirmed their participation.

In particular, major Chinese buyers with sufficient investment capacity have also confirmed their participation, and this export consultation is achieving qualitative expansion with greater country diversity and heightened potential for actual investment deals.

The export consultation will be conducted entirely online with free admission, unlike previous years.

Participating domestic game developers will receive benefits including interpretation services, pitching video production, and overseas media promotion support on a first-come, first-served basis. Taking into account the business hours of overseas game publishing and distribution representatives in the Americas and Europe, a business matching center will operate 24 hours.

For inquiries about registration, contact the PlayX4 Operations Office (02-6941-2989/2021playx4@gmail.com).

Meanwhile, the PlayX4 B2C (business-to-consumer) exhibition will be held in a 'hybrid format' combining online and offline from July 15 to 18 for four days, taking into account the COVID-19 situation.

The PlayX4 online channel will operate programs introducing new games from game companies, and entertainment broadcasts related to gaming will also be conducted. The offline event will take place at Hall 7 of KINTEX Exhibition Hall 2, where visitors can experience various new games across different genres.

Considering the COVID-19 situation, all offline venue visits will be conducted through 100% online pre-registration via the PlayX4 official homepage.

Additionally, the organizers plan to collaborate with local governments and related organizations to invite residents who face relative difficulty adapting to the digital era, including the near-poor and people with disabilities, to the event venue.

An official from the PlayX4 Operations Office explained, "The event schedule has been adjusted taking into comprehensive account the gaming industry's offline marketing schedule, COVID-19 vaccination progress, and the academic calendar of middle and high school students, who are major visitors to PlayX4."

Detailed schedules for the PlayX4 B2C exhibition will be announced later through the official PlayX4 homepage.

Meanwhile, 'PlayX4 2021,' celebrating its 12th edition this year, is the region's largest game industry exhibition hosted by Gyeonggi Province. The 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19 spread, while 2019 saw approximately 100,000 visitors and recorded the show's greatest success.