On 8-9/5, the reception hall of the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) proudly displayed 11 national flags of ASEAN member states. This gesture welcomed 87 esports athletes participating in the Southeast Asian Esports Cup (SNC) 2026. This marked the first time an esports tournament brought together teams from all 11 ASEAN nations, signaling Vietnam GameVerse's transformation from a domestic festival into an event with international influence.

A packed venue at Vietnam GameVerse 2026, 8-9/5, at SECC, Ho Chi Minh City.

"For the past four years, we have had a burning dream: to build GameVerse into an international event, a destination for the global gaming industry. Today, that dream has become a reality", affirmed Le Quang Tu Do, Director of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, to delegates from various countries at the opening ceremony.

Director Do had good reason for his confidence. Before the doors opened at 8h on 8/5, thousands of young people queued, filling the ticket entrance. Crowds continued to gather in front of booths belonging to publishers like VTC, VNGGames, and Funtap. In the B2B area, multilingual discussions between game project representatives and investors occurred continuously. In the Wonderland zone, Vietnamese cosplayers greeted guests from Taiwan, Malaysia, and other regions.

This year's Vietnam GameVerse 2026 took place as the Vietnamese game industry experienced significant liberalization. For the first time, Vietnam has resolutions and policies recognizing gaming as one of six key cultural industries requiring investment and development. Vietnamese businesses investing in historical and cultural games now receive tax exemptions and reductions. "The Vietnamese game industry has perfect conditions to accelerate its growth", Director Do stated, while calling for cooperation and investment from international partners. He also advised domestic game companies: "This is a major opportunity. Such an opportunity comes once in a century, so seize it".

Le Quang Tu Do - Director of Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information.

Presentations at the Vietnam Game Forum on the morning of 8/5 highlighted the industry's potential. Vu Minh Hanh, CEO of GameGeek, presented data showing Vietnam ranked second globally in mobile game downloads in 2025, with 4.9 billion downloads. A total of 27,000 games were released in 2025, demonstrating the production speed and product optimization capabilities of domestic studios, as well as their agility in accessing multiple markets.

Giuseppe Stasolla, Head of Ecosystem for Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand at Google Play, provided figures indicating that in 2025, Vietnam achieved 8.5 billion game and app downloads, a 39% increase from 2024. Publisher revenue grew by 69% compared to 2024. This reflects a market shift from growth based on user quantity to quality and sustainable value creation.

Dao Quang Tuan, CEO of Funtap Games, analyzed six driving forces that will propel Vietnam to become a gaming powerhouse. These include crucial factors such as domestic and foreign investment capital, government and international support, and the creativity of local human resources.

Speakers representing domestic and international publishers and technology companies discussed the strength of Vietnam's game industry on the morning of 8/5.

The emergence of the "Esports House", the final piece to complete the game industry ecosystem, elevated the role of players to par with other pillars: schools, publishers, the state, and developers. The industry's growth is no longer solely a dialogue between businesses and regulators; it must actively foster player skills, thereby producing athletes who can bring glory to the nation in international sports tournaments.

An agreement was signed between the Southeast Asian Esports Federation (SEAEF), Vietnam GameVerse, and VNGGames to make the SNC an annual tournament, demonstrating the industry leadership's commitment to the future of this young discipline.

To leverage the game industry's development momentum, Director Do and Director Tuan urged all stakeholders to collaborate and support each other for further progress. This spirit has been advocated since GameVerse's inception and was re-emphasized this year with the slogan "Do Local - Go Global".

International experts such as Stasolla, Kien Bui (Chief Solutions Engineer at BytePlus Vietnam), and Adam Seldow (Director of Education Policy at Roblox) noted that embracing AI would be a prerequisite for Vietnamese studios to accelerate further. Issues related to personal data protection were also discussed, guiding the game industry towards sustainable development.

The signing ceremony to organize the Southeast Asian Esports Cup - a milestone marking Vietnam's emergence as a competition destination for national teams.

While growth figures generated excitement at the forum, many experts agreed that Vietnamese games need strong intellectual property (IP) and a distinct identity to truly succeed internationally.

Speaker Mike Fischer from the University of Southern California suggested that leveraging unique cultural and historical elements would help Vietnamese games create experiences compelling enough to win over a loyal player base.

Over the past year, several products like Hao Khi Dong A, Thu Thanh Su Viet, and Tai Uong have garnered attention by exploring the nation's 4,000-year history and legends. However, culture is a constantly evolving current, requiring game developers to continuously grasp public tastes if they want their products to leave a lasting impression.

Speaker Ngoc Thuy Duong presented solutions to convey the grandeur of Vietnamese history through games like Thu Thanh Su Viet.

The victory of Quan Pho Anh Hai at the Vietnam Game Awards ceremony on the evening of 8/5 demonstrated this. By using iconic Vietnamese imagery such as a bowl of pho, a dog, and the daily life of workers, this game won both the esteemed "Excellent Vietnamese Indie Game" and "Vietnamese Game of the Year" awards. This clearly proves that small-scale domestic studios can reach international players with "purely Vietnamese" products.

At the GameHub finals on the afternoon of 8/5, five projects that effectively utilized local content were recognized and received investment from the judging panel. Most were products of young game development teams, featuring diverse genres and approaches. Some teams drew inspiration from the folk tale Son Tinh - Thuy Tinh, others used the 1945 famine as material for a survival horror experience, and another group recreated the rhythm of Vietnamese coastal village life during the 1995-2010 period.

The GameHub finals helped discover potential projects.

Nguyen The Minh, representative of the project Tram Yeu Diet Ma: Loan The Quy Linh, inspired by mythology and folk beliefs, commented: "The world still lacks many action IPs with new cultural and mythological elements. Vietnamese culture is a fertile ground waiting to be explored." According to him, players seek games not just to learn history, but to discover new worlds, new sensations, and depth in gameplay.

To effectively utilize historical and cultural materials, human resource training plays a vital role. Many universities in Vietnam now consider game design a key major, as more young people choose this as a career path. However, Doctor Cao Minh Thang, Director of the CDIT Institute of Information and Communication Technology at the Academy of Posts and Telecommunications Technology, believes that the Vietnamese game industry still "thirsts" for high-quality personnel.

According to him, current personnel training remains fragmented between programming and art, while the market severely lacks high-quality digital, cinematic, and graphics teams for large-scale game projects. He emphasized that the training process for the game industry needs to align with the practical needs of businesses and the long-term development of the cultural industry.

A female cosplayer at the event.

The future of Vietnam's game industry depends not only on product quality but also on community influence. At Vietnam GameVerse 2026, esports tournaments, parades, cosplay competitions, and concerts generated excitement for tens of thousands of attendees.

As a regional tournament where national teams compete, the SNC united the Vietnamese esports fan community. Living up to their fans' expectations, the host team finished second overall with 390 points, just behind Indonesia.

Esports competition activities.

The gold medal in the PUBG Mobile team event, brought home by Nguyen Anh Quan and Phan Van Dong, delighted fans, while Doan Trong Tan's defeat to Nathawat Satake (Thailand) in Total Football left many disappointed, especially after the Vietnamese athlete had led 5-2 at one point.

Beyond the SNC, Vietnam GameVerse 2026 also featured other tournaments such as Game Arena: SROM, VMC Spring 2026 Grand Finals, and FC Mobile Invitation Cup 2026, attracting famous athletes from various disciplines.

In addition to competitions, the Esports All Stars Fan Meeting offered a different perspective on the sport. Four renowned athletes—Hide from Saigon Phantom MLBB, Jiro from Saigon Phantom AOV, former GAM Esports athlete Levi, and Hoai Triet from SuperNova—shared their journeys into esports and how they overcame biases to reach the top.

35,000 people attended Vietnam GameVerse over two days.

These insights motivated young people considering professional esports careers. The enthusiastic atmosphere of the exchange also showed that esports athletes are not only skilled but can also lead crowds and become idols for the younger generation.

While the series of esports activities bore a sporting imprint, cosplay truly showcased the cultural festival aspect of GameVerse. Two hundred young people brought costumes, seemingly only found in fantasy worlds, to life during the parade on the afternoon of 9/5. Most invested tens of millions of dong to achieve their desired appearance for this gathering of shared passion.

One cosplayer from Vung Tau mentioned leaving home at 3 am to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City in time for makeup and costume preparation before the event began. Cosplayer Celine Thao (Ho Chi Minh City) stated she not only invested in herself but also rented costumes to serve the community.

The winning performance of the Cosplay Contest.

Cosplay performances.

Cosplay performances.

Cosplay performances.

Cosplay performances.

Cosplay performances.

Cosplay performances.

Cosplay performances.

The cosplay community is directly connected to the game industry. They serve as catalysts, helping events like GameVerse flourish. Cosplayers, by embodying characters, help disseminate game images. Many have become genuine key opinion leaders (KOLs). At GameVerse 2026, organizers invited influential cosplayers from the region, such as Mikki (Malaysia), Taotan (Thailand), and Hattie (Korea), to interact with the Vietnamese community.

Vietnam GameVerse 2026 concluded on the evening of 9/5, following a music program featuring young artists like 24k.Right, Wxrdie, Khang Ki, IndieK, and DJ Huy OEG. The event impressed not only with its scale as a sports and cultural festival but also with its foundational role for agreements, as publishers, developers, and investors met, forming a clear B2B environment for the game industry.

Whether viewed from a management or business perspective, the unifying theme of Vietnam GameVerse 2026 was the spirit of collaboration. To transform potential into true strength and seize this generational opportunity, entities cannot operate in isolation. "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together", Director Le Quang Tu Do advised, concluding his speech with the event's overarching message: "Let’s do local, go global together".

Vietnam GameVerse 2026 made its mark with a rich series of events over two days. Video: Van Ngoc

Hoai Phuong

Photos: Quynh Tran, Duc Dong, Hieu Luong