Vietnam seeks to tap into game industry’s huge potential

The game industry in Vietnam has recorded strong progress recently, and authorities are moving to tap into its substantial potential.

Data from market research company Newzoo show that Vietnam’s gaming industry attracted 54.6 million players and earned $507 million in revenue last year. In particular, many positive figures were seen in esports-related games.

Phung Viet Thang, country manager for the sales, marketing and communications group at Intel, held that the game industry of Vietnam has made many impressive milestones in the recent past.

Considerable potential could be seen in the fields of games and esports. Over the last 10 years, the country’s e-sports teams have stretched their reach out of Southeast Asia to compete with global rivals.

With more than 18 million players, the e-sports sector boasts a potential foundation for development, according to the Vietnam E-sports Whitebook 2021.

The presence of esports at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) reflected the Government’s efforts to promote this type of sport. Professional gamers, jobs related to games and e-sports, along with esports competitions are becoming more popular in the country.

Le Quang Tu Do, director of the Ministry of Information and Communications' (MIC) Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI), considers the game industry as a major contributor to national development in the Industry 4.0 era. This industry consists of producers and distributors, and there is huge potential in the production segment.

ABEI statistics reveal that about 50% of popular mobile games come (outsourced or completely developed) from Vietnam. One in every 25 games available on app marketplaces is from Vietnam, a rate much higher than other countries’. This indicates various advantages this industry holds to develop and become a big foreign currency earner.

However, Do also pointed out that although the game industry is growing in terms of both quality and the number of players and Vietnamese people are producing games for foreigners, most of the games distributed here hail from other countries.

Vu Minh Hanh, chief of the Office of the Vietnam Game Developers Association, said training in game-specialised branches has yet to be popular. It was not until 2023 that the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) opened the first official training course on game design.

The development of this industry is facing many difficulties due to a shortage of professional manpower. As a result, made-in-Vietnam games haven’t been able to reach the international level, she noted.

Meanwhile, the country’s mobile game revenue remains modest compared to the total amount in Southeast Asia, which is partly attributed to policy differences between Vietnam and others in the region.

To reach the revenue target of $1 billion by 2030, Do said the MIC is drafting a strategy for the game industry development which will include establishing a game developers’ alliance, changing the social bias against this industry, and attracting foreign investment funds and businesses. It is also working closely with other ministries and sectors to prioritise assistance for game development.

The MIC and ABEI are also coordinating with relevant parties to build important conditions, including training, the official said, elaborating that the PTIT is promoting training at the tertiary level, while the Vietnam Multimedia Corporation VTC is also investing much in developing skilled game personnel.

It is also necessary to change the social bias so that more people will engage in this industry and create more game startups in the future, he added.