The 2026 Vietnam GameVerse opened in HCM City on May 8, eyeing a place for Viet Nam's gaming industry on the global stage. — VNS Photo Việt Dũng

HCM CITY – The Vietnam GameVerse 2026 festival was launched this morning at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) in HCM City, aiming to strengthen Vietnamese game products, promote foreign investment and affirm the gaming industry as a priority in the national digital economy. 

The two-day event is co-organised by the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information VnExpress Newspaper, FPT Online and the Việt Nam Game Development Alliance.

The event features 100 exhibition booths from game publishers with activities like playing popular video games, community events and interactions with influencers. It has attracted participation from major game publishers in Việt Nam, including Garena, VNG Corp, VTC and FunTap.

According to the organisers, this year's event offers paid admission, with over 30,000 tickets having already been sold prior to the opening.

This year's event features a host of activities, most notably the Việt Nam Game Forum themed 'Do Local, Go Global', drawing 300 representatives from domestic and international businesses, experts and organisations.

The forum serves as a platform for participants to discuss strategies for the sustainable development of Việt Nam's gaming industry and its push onto the global stage, with presentations centring on market scale, emerging trends and the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Lê Quang Tự Do, director general of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, said the Vietnamese government has identified the gaming industry as one of six key cultural industries requiring focused investment and development, and that Việt Nam's gaming industry holds significant advantages for acceleration and growth.

Vũ Minh Hạnh, CEO of GameGeek, said that mobile games developed by Vietnamese creators exceeded 4.9 billion downloads globally in 2025, with over 27,000 new games released during the year. Vietnamese mobile game genres with the highest download volumes are concentrated in three main categories: Simulation, Puzzle and Arcade.

Hạnh said that despite saturation and a downturn in the global gaming industry, Việt Nam's mobile gaming sector has maintained stable growth momentum. 

She also mentioned that the domestic market accounts for only 5.5 per cent of total downloads, whilst the majority come from developing countries characterised by young populations, rapidly increasing smartphone adoption and a preference for casual games (puzzle, arcade).

In addition, the forum also saw the signing of partnerships, including an agreement between the Southeast Asia Esports Federation and Vietnam GameVerse to co-host the SEA Esports Nations Cup (SNC), alongside deals covering technology transfer and the provision of breakthrough solutions for Việt Nam's gaming content ecosystem and community.

The event garnered the interest of tens of thousands of visitors interested in Việt Nam's gaming scene. — VNS Photo Việt Dũng

The event also includes a wide range of activities, including esports competitions in the SEA Esports Nations Cup such as Crossfire, PUBG Mobile and FC Mobile.

As part of the event, the Việt Nam Game Awards 2026 ceremony will honour 21 award categories recognising outstanding products, services and individuals following a public voting process that began in January 2026.

The categories include The Golden Galaxy (for games published in Việt Nam), The Golden Sun (for Vietnamese-developed games), The Golden Star (for esports in Việt Nam) and The Golden Gear (for gaming devices, products and related services).

There is also a dedicated B2B area for business networking, ecosystem development, discussions and industry collaboration programmes.

The area also hosts the GameHub Final, where indie game projects pitch before businesses, investors and industry representatives. This activity focuses on discovering new projects and expanding collaboration opportunities for emerging studios. — VNS