[GameSanUP] "Creative Developers Must Be Nurtured to Secure Growth Engines"

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] On the 7th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced a comprehensive plan to promote the game industry and stated that it would strengthen the capabilities of small and medium-sized developers. Experts advised that nurturing 'creative developers' is essential to create growth momentum for the game industry.

Experts diagnosed that the cause of the stagnation in the Korean game industry lies in the polarization between large game companies and small and medium-sized game companies. Due to lack of investment and manpower, small and medium-sized game companies are shrinking, resulting in a lack of creative games that could grow new markets. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also recognized the problem and announced on the same day that it would expand support for strengthening capabilities and investment in manpower, production, and marketing of small and medium-sized game companies.

However, experts expressed regret regarding programs for nurturing the next generation of game talent such as university students and financial support. Professor Han Dong-seung of Jeonju University’s Game Content Department pointed out, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism does not provide much support for university talent development," adding, "There is no practical nurturing of the manpower actually needed."

Professor Han said, "To resolve the polarization problem, the core necessity is to build a foundation that can foster the creativity of game department university students and young people."

He continued, "Small and medium-sized game companies lack the capacity to invest in new things, and large companies tend to invest safely by utilizing existing intellectual property (IP), which lowers the industry’s driving force," adding, "The government needs to explore win-win measures such as enabling large companies to invest."

Realistic issues regarding future budget securing were also pointed out. Professor Wi Jeong-hyun, president of the Korea Game Society and professor of business administration at Chung-Ang University, said, "Efforts to enhance the diversity of the game ecosystem are meaningful," but added, "Securing the execution budget for policies and ensuring connectivity with the game policies of the next government two years later are key."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.