Netflix removes most games for Vietnamese users

By Luu Quy May 20, 2024 | 06:12 pm PT

The Mobile Games section is no longer available for Vietnamese users. Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy

Streaming giant Netflix has removed around 90 games from its app for users in Vietnam, one month after being told by the government that it distributed them without permits.

On Saturday Vietnamese users noticed the app’s "Mobile Games" section, which used to display many smartphone games, was no longer there.

On the App Store on Apple devices, Netflix is shown as the developer of only its streaming app and an Internet speed test app, with games having been taken down.

On Android devices, Netflix has only five games left.

Netflix has not made a formal announcement about the decision or even a mention on its Facebook fan page.

The Ministry of Information and Communications said in April that Netflix had unauthorized advertisements for its games without having permits to distribute them.

It instructed the company to desist from marketing and distributing the games.

Until then Vietnamese users could access the games on Netflix’s main streaming app. Many of them were meant for users aged 17 or more.

In Vietnam, Netflix has received multiple warnings from authorities for not opening a representative office and showing content that violated regulations, which it was ordered to remove.