Vietnam Sees 20% Drop in Hyper-Casual Games

The gaming market in Vietnam is expected to witness an annual growth rate CAGR of 8.68%, in 2024-2027, resulting in a projected market volume of 586 million USD by 2027.

Real-Time Changes

In Vietnam, the mobile gaming sector dominates over PCs and consoles as in other Asian countries. The Vietnamese mobile games market is expected to reach 266 million USD by 2027.

Joseph Woo, Global Business Development Executive at Potato Play

Many developers on the mobile market tried to make games but failed. Eventually, some people learn how to do it better and make good games. A great example is Vietnam, where many developers create mobile games because they have a very clear thought process in this field and the ecosystem is built in a way where many successful mobile game studios exist.

The video game market is currently shifting in Vietnam. Previously, more than 70% of developers specialized in hyper-casual games. This figure has now dropped to just 50%. Hybrid games are the new mainstream. The share of mid-core and hardcore projects and cross-platform games is growing.

Up to 70% of Vietnamese gamers are still seeking free gaming but the shift is clear here too. The gaming community is moving toward narrative-driven or content-rich offerings. This trend is especially noticeable among the younger generation, who are actively moving towards purchasing games and DLCs on stores such as Steam, Nintendo, and mobile app stores.

Lack of English And Industry Professionals

Respondents note a lack of game designers in the local market. The development of education in video games faces the problem of the conservative attitude of society. Parents of aspiring developers often consider video games to be some kind of disease and want to prevent students from doing it.

A significant risk of doing business in Vietnam is the widespread phenomenon of piracy and tax evasion. Indie developers try to circumvent tax payments without creating a legal entity, while large companies use legal pitfalls. From 2013 to 2023, there were about 200 Vietnamese gaming companies registered in Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Singapore, which allowed them to avoid taxes and attract more investment.

Another significant difficulty is the low level of English language proficiency. Due to the peculiarities of the local mentality, the majority of Vietnamese people “are afraid” to speak English. Localization into Vietnamese and adaptation of the game to the local market is a mandatory part of the work for successful promotion.
 

Leo Hoang, President at LacBird Co.

A lot of Chinese and Korean games are getting into the Vietnamese industry. But it isn’t easy for Western countries to work in Vietnam. For example, Starship Troopers failed there. So, the first challenge for them is that the Vietnamese people need Vietnamese games. If you want all people here to play your game, it should be in Vietnamese and include an appropriate pricing model, Vietnamese content and DRC stuff.

Interested in diving deeper into Vietnam's unique landscape and its differences from other Southeast Asian countries? Download our comprehensive report How to Conquer the Southeast Asian Game Market? Part 2: Focus On The Countries:

Vietnam Sees 20% Drop in Hyper-Casual Games, Paving the Way For Hybrid, Content-Rich Gaming

Real-Time Changes

Lack of English And Industry Professionals

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