2025 PlayX4 Achieves Record-Breaking Results as Korea's Largest Integrated Game Show

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] The '2025 PlayX4,' Korea's largest integrated game show in the Seoul metropolitan area, has concluded with record-breaking achievements, drawing 115,000 total visitors and recording $203 million in export consultation results.

Held for four days from the 22nd to the 25th at the Gyeonggi-do Convention & Exhibition Center (KINTEX) Hall 1 in Goyang City, the event brought together a total of 721 companies, including major domestic and international game developers such as Nexon, Smilegate, Supercell Korea, Daewon Media, NimbleNeuron, and Bandai Namco and Blizzard Entertainment, along with small and medium-sized developers. Diverse new game announcements and interactive events with visitors attracted significant attention.

KINTEX Hall 1, Halls 3-5, were filled with diverse gaming booths featuring consoles, PC/mobile games, arcade, and board games, offering visitors a rich experience. Supercell showcased an experiential play space, Nexon presented an indie game zone and 'Yimdol Land,' and Smilegate Stove exhibited a booth with a theme park concept. In particular, the arcade special zone expanded to 150 booths this year, evoking nostalgia for arcade culture, while 'Nostalgic Arcade' and 'Retro Marketplace' drew significant popularity among family visitors.

The Gyeonggi e-Sports Festival was also held simultaneously, featuring competitions with diverse participants including people with disabilities, university students, and families. Major e-sports tournaments such as 'Brawl Stars' professional team invitation events, 'Eternal Return Korea e-Sports League,' and 'ASL Season 19 Finals' were conducted with real-time online streaming, garnering enthusiastic responses both on-site and online.

This year's B2B exhibition area went beyond a simple consultation space, being organized as a content-focused business promotion zone, providing substantial support for small and medium-sized game companies, including user focus group testing (FGT) and game auditions serving as gateways for participating developers. The export consultation session brought together 563 companies (211 domestic developers and 352 domestic and international buyers) conducting 1,476 consultations, recording $203 million in export consultation value—an 18.7% increase compared to the previous year.

The event significantly expanded booth sizes and stage events, improved the entry system considering visitor safety, and systematized re-entry and traffic flow to enhance operational convenience. Additionally, ancillary facilities such as traffic guidance, information desks, and rest areas were strengthened, resulting in high satisfaction among participants.

Lee Seong-ho, Director of Future Growth Industry Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "2025 PlayX4 is a platform that realizes the innovation and potential of the gaming industry," and added, "Based on the diverse opinions of developers gathered at this event, the province will actively work to attract investment and foster an industrial ecosystem through 'Gyeonggi Game Connect 2025' in the second half of the year."