The preliminary round, featuring over 250 nominations, ran from 10/3 to 31/3. In its first week, categories such as Game of the Year, Timeless Game, and Excellent Esports Title received substantial attention.
In the Game of the Year category, Last Z: Survival Shooter led with 1,460 votes. For the Timeless Game category, ZingSpeed Mobile temporarily held the top spot with 2,833 votes. Funtap Games dominated the Excellent Game Publisher category, securing 2,639 votes.
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The voting interface for the preliminary round of Vietnam Game Awards 2026. Screenshot |
In the Most Beloved Game Community category, Play Together Community took the lead with 2,687 votes. The character Mr. Hot Dog (Chu Xuc Xich) received 1,912 votes in the Most Beloved Game Character category.
The Vietnam Game Awards 2026 features 22 awards across four groups: The Golden Galaxy, The Golden Sun, The Golden Star, and The Golden Gear. Results are determined by 50% reader votes and 50% evaluation from an expert council. However, five awards related to community, characters, and auxiliary services will be decided 100% by reader votes.
Readers can cast their votes here.
According to the rules, each account is allowed one vote per category. The vote counts are publicly displayed but will be hidden during the final three days to ensure result integrity. Three to five nominations with the highest scores in each category will advance to the finals.
The final round will take place from 7/4 to 21/4. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 9/5 in TP HCM, as part of the Vietnam Game Festival - Vietnam GameVerse 2026.
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Gamota representatives accepting the Game of the Year award at Vietnam Game Awards 2025. Photo: Quynh Tran |
This year's event introduces professional esports tournaments, including the Cup The thao dien tu Dong Nam A and the FC Mobile Invitation Cup 2026. The business-to-business (B2B) area and the independent game developer (Indie Game) zone have also expanded in scale.
With the theme "Do Local - Go Global", Vietnam GameVerse 2026 is expected to attract over 50,000 attendees. A series of Game Talks will also be held throughout February to May, aiming to connect industry professionals.
Hai Long
