Chinese game companies flood G-Star as Korean firms look abroad

Chinese game companies are mounting an increasingly aggressive push at G-Star, South Korea's largest gaming exhibition. The number of Chinese firms setting up booths in this year's business-to-consumer hall is now nearly on par with Korean companies.

As major Korean game developers have shifted their attention to overseas gaming events, Chinese companies have been quick to fill the void at home.

According to industry sources, eight Chinese game developers and publishers will have booths in the BTC hall this year — the highest count of any foreign country.

A floor plan for G-Star 2026's BTC hall, released Tuesday by the G-Star Organizing Committee, shows nine Korean companies, eight Chinese, three Japanese, two American and one European firm participating. The number of Chinese exhibitors falls just one short of the host country's own tally.

Leading Chinese game companies plan to set up large booths throughout the main exhibition hall to maximize their presence.

Among the most notable returnees is HoYoverse, which is coming back to G-Star for the first time in four years. The company will occupy a 100-booth space in Hall 1, where it plans to showcase events tied to its blockbuster Zenless Zone Zero alongside new titles including "Honkai: Nexus Anima" and "Petit Planet."

NetEase Games and Century Games will also participate. Joker Studio, a subsidiary of NetEase Games, plans to set up a booth in the central zone of Hall 1, while NetEase Games will present its new title "Yanyun" through the G-Star Global Game Showcase in Hall 2. Bilibili Games and other Chinese-affiliated companies are also on the exhibitor list.

Large foreign game companies outside China are drawing industry attention as well. Japan's Sega and Koei Tecmo Games, along with Polish developer CD Projekt Red, will also appear at G-Star. Sega will showcase "Total War: Warhammer 40,000," Koei Tecmo Games will present "Nioh 3," and CD Projekt Red will exhibit content related to "The Witcher 3."

By contrast, the presence of major Korean game companies has shrunk considerably from previous years. Nexon, Netmarble, NCsoft and Kakao Games are among the prominent domestic studios that will not be operating exhibition booths this year — an unusual absence. Krafton and Webzen have confirmed their participation, however.

Industry observers attribute the shift to a broader realignment of global game companies toward overseas markets.

This year, Korean game companies headed to the Tokyo Game Show instead of G-Star. NCsoft, Nexon, Netmarble, Smilegate and other major domestic studios all set up booths at Tokyo Game Show 2026, held last month at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. A total of 127 Korean game companies participated in this year's TGS — roughly 2.5 times the number from last year.

"As game development costs have continued to rise, it has become harder to recoup expenses from the domestic market alone, leading to more titles being developed with global success in mind from the outset," an industry official said. "Companies are attending nearby overseas events like the Tokyo Game Show in large numbers to broaden their reach with international users."

Chinese game companies are following a similar logic in accelerating their push into the Korean market. With competition intensifying in China's domestic market, industry watchers say Chinese firms increasingly view South Korea as a key overseas market and are expanding their presence accordingly.

"The string of successes Chinese games have had in South Korea over the past few years also underpins the aggressive push," another industry official said. "Chinese games used to be popular mainly in niche subculture genres, but they have recently gained traction across genres more broadly — the move to exhibit at G-Star appears aimed at gauging the response of Korean users."

G-Star 2026 will be held at Bexco in Busan from Nov. 19 to Nov. 22.