NHN announced on Sunday that it has begun recruiting participants for its “Next AI Network 2026” hackathon (also known as NAN 2026), which aims to discover gaming and artificial intelligence talent and expand recruitment connections.
The event was planned as part of NHN’s company-wide strategy to incorporate AI-driven business innovation. It was established with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency to develop talent for the Korean game industry. Anyone over the age of 19 can apply as an individual or in a team of up to three people.
Applicants must submit preliminary work, including a playable game build, demo video, game overview, and technical documentation on the use of AI, via the application page by August 10th. After an internal review, the final 10 teams will compete for 48 hours from September 4th to 6th at the NHN Play Museum headquarters in Pangyo City, Gyeonggi Province, and create products such as game prototypes and agent design documents.
The top three teams that pass the final screening will receive a total of 80 million won in prize money, including the grand prize of 50 million won, the grand prize of 20 million won, and the excellence award of 10 million won. All winners will also receive recruitment-related benefits, including the opportunity for a final interview at NHN. Bonuses will also be paid based on the number of years of service after joining the company.
NHN said it continues to strengthen the group’s AI capabilities by implementing various internal and external programs, including this competition. In March, the company completed an internal program for employees called NHN AI Sprinton. On July 2, the company hosted “2026 Agentic Day” with NHN Cloud and NHN Dooray to share achievements based on AI agents.
Kim Sang-ho (김상호), head of NHN’s game business division, said NAN 2026 is a hackathon focused on games, where participants can use AI in games to propose new experiences and implement them into real-world products. He stated that he will continue to pursue game innovation using AI based on the data he has accumulated and service operation capabilities, and will work to produce concrete results.
