Organized by the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI), the third edition of Vietnam GameVerse 2025 took place on May 26 and 27, 2025, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City. Niko Partners attended the event, where co-organizers included media entities VnExpress and FPT Online, and the Vietnam Game Development Alliance.
In our opinion, the event, which was based on the theme of “Comprehensive Connectivity,” is another showcase of the vibrant health of the Vietnamese games ecosystem. To start with, GameVerse 2025 itself set new records, including over 100 exhibitors and staffed booths (double of last year’s count and five times the size of the inaugural GameVerse) and first-time participation by global tech and game giants such as Apple, Meta, Google, Roblox, and Riot Games.
Niko Partners Vietnam Analyst Hung Tang (left) and Product Manager Linh Diep (right) at Gamota booth
The scale here reflected Vietnam’s emergence as a gaming hub. The event convened the state, publishers, developers, investors, and educators in what ABEI’s Director Le Quang Tu Do call the convergence of five “game universes.” For external observers and those looking to participate in this market, we believe it helpful to provide observations from the event.
Impressive growth and activities
Organizer figures showed over 10,000 registrations for Vietnam GameVerse 2025, which translated into 40,000 actual participants. Remarkably, Vietnam GameVerse 2025 drew large crowds despite being rescheduled due to a national mourning period and taking place across two weekdays. To us, this turnout highlights the strong enthusiasm and engagement capabilities of the Vietnamese video games community.
The event included PC game zones alongside mobile and console showcases. Live cosplay contests, a popular staple, took place onstage for enthusiasts. Multiple live esports tournaments ran throughout the festival. We note that despite a bearish outlook on domestic esports, Vietnam shows great potential as a regional esports hub, with teams such GAM and Team Secret Whales gaining international prominence.
Local and global tech and game companies made their presence at Vietnam GameVerse 2025
Apple, Meta, Google, Roblox, and Riot Games setting up booths at GameVerse 2025 marked the first time these companies had conducted such a marketing exercise at a Vietnamese games event. New titles and technologies were also showcased by domestic companies, including VNG, VTC, Garena, Gamota, Funtap, and Gosu.
We also noted the presence of several indie and mid-size Korean studios, such as Busidol, Geniesoft, and ReadyMade also participated. Busidol (부싯돌) focuses on accessible, family-friendly defense gameplay across multiple devices. It is best known for Eldorado M, a strategic tower-defense RPG that originated on TV platforms and migrated to mobile and arcade formats. Geniesoft is a tech firm specializing in music-infused VR experiences that aim to minimize motion sickness. The company promotes ‘device-free’ VR immersive game formats combining K‑Pop licensing and innovative delivery. ReadyMade develops AR/VR arcade titles such as STEP UP ARCADE, Bugsbot Ignition VR, and MR Arena, targeting immersive entertainment in public arcade settings.
The three studios are showcased together under the Korea Game Pavilion, organized by the Korea Game Culture Foundation. Through its MoU with ABEI and the Game Product Administration Committee, the Foundation positioned Vietnam GameVerse 2025 as an ideal venue to introduce these studios and offer playtests of their titles to Vietnamese gamers. Additionally, VNG’s recent joint venture with NCSOFT—NCV Games to publish NCSOFT’s portfolio throughout Southeast Asia—highlights the event’s strategic importance for Korean developers, particularly smaller studios. By tapping into Vietnam’s rapidly growing game market and its somewhat underexploited arcade segment, these initiatives not only pursue commercial opportunity but also reinforce cultural and industry ties between Korea and Vietnam.
Vietnam and South Korea gaming cooperation
A major headline from GameVerse 2025 was the signing ceremony for games and games industry cooperation between Vietnam and South Korea. Representatives from Vietnam’s ABEI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korea Game Culture Foundation and Game Product Administration Committee. Through this, Vietnamese and Korean companies will collaborate on game projects, share best practices on age ratings and player protections, and organize joint events and educational and training programs.
Furthermore, the agreement’s inclusion of the Korea Game Culture Foundation highlights a cultural component, with Foundation Director Mr. Yu Byong Han remarking that Korea’s success in video games was also rooted in a healthy culture supported by overall societal dynamics. The remarks can be interpreted as a strong message to gaming bodies in Vietnam, considering the long-standing prejudice against gaming.
During GameVerse, Vietnamese officials and Korean counterparts also met to discuss broader content cooperation, including cultural exchanges and joint forums. For example, Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism spoke with Korea’s ministry about sending Vietnamese games to Korea’s G-Star expo and vice versa.
In a concrete cultural showcase, the Korean Cultural Center in Vietnam and the Korea Creative Content Agency in Vietnam jointly launched a Korea Game Pavilion at the festival. This pavilion highlighted Korean indie studios and helped them promote their games to Vietnamese gamers. These initiatives signal a new Vietnam-Korea collaboration era that explicitly weaves cultural content into game design.
Korea Game Pavilion at Vietnam GameVerse 2025 symbolizes closer Vietnam-Korea ties
The event also served as a symbolic milestone for Vietnam’s growing importance in Southeast Asia’s games ecosystem. The active involvement of Korean organizations – such as the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Korean Cultural Center in Vietnam, who helped bring multiple Korean game studios to showcase their titles – demonstrates Vietnam’s rising appeal as a strategic market for global game companies.
Games as cultural heritage
An important theme at GameVerse 2025 was using games to transmit culture. VTC (Vietnam Multimedia Corporation) CEO Nguyen Ngoc Bao argued that Vietnamese games should be treated as a modern form of heritage that could serve as a ‘digital bridge’ linking traditional customs and the future. This is a trend Niko Partners has noticed in other countries such as the UAE, where the government has emphasized the need and supported local ecosystems in fusing the traditional and contemporary through games. In other words, games can embed folklore, history, and art into interactive experiences. Unlike passive media, games actively allow players to explore cultural references firsthand, denoting immersive environments where images, sounds, and interactions actively embed cultural elements.
According to Niko Partners research, Vietnam had over 55 million gamers in 2024, or around 54.4% of the country’s population. Moreover, with a cultural legacy spanning over four millennia, Vietnamese game studios have a rich source of ideas and backgrounds to be incorporated into their games. We note, however, that most local games have focused on gameplay rather than heritage, and most Vietnamese gamers also play international titles instead of locally-developed ones, even as interest in local games is slowly growing.
Game industry leaders at GameVerse urged change: Vietnam needs a national strategy and funding for “cultural games” that draw on history and legends. Examples cited abroad include China’s Black Myth: Wukong, which brought martial arts myths to global gaming audiences, and Assassin’s Creed, which has gamified Egyptian history (among other culture) for millions.
Vietnam aims to follow suit, creating titles that globally promote Vietnamese culture, music, mythology, history, imagery, and more. Niko Partners is tracking this trend, and our research shows Asian gamers care deeply about representation and content that culturally resonates with them, manifested via high demand for localization and even culturalization. Time will tell, however, if the local games ecosystem is able to rise to the challenge this demand presents, and Niko’s Vietnam team will continue tracking developments here.
In summary, Vietnam GameVerse 2025 demonstrated a thriving industry that is setting records, forming alliances, and showcasing the integration of culture into games. Understanding this landscape is critical for game companies venturing into the market, and Niko Partners leverages deep local expertise and comprehensive market data to shed light on these matters. We have experts in the field and strong networks across Asia and MENA, resulting in our clients getting access to on-site perspectives and the data-driven analyses of emerging and established trends.
Vietnam is one of the Southeast Asian markets that Niko Partners has tracked for over a decade. Dive deep into the market through our Southeast Asia Games Market Reports Series with the recently updated market model. Get regular pulse check on the industry through Niko’s Value-VANA, now in NikoIQ, our online intelligence dashboard. We also have custom research & consulting service that will help you answer more specific questions and develop strategic planning, tailored to your needs.
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