Vietnamese gaming industry has never been so 'vigorous': official

In collaboration with VnExpress, FPT Online Services Joint Stock Company, and the Vietnam Game Alliance, the department on Thursday announced activities within the framework of the international game exhibition - Vietnam GameVerse 2024.

Speaking at the press conference, Do said that over a year ago, when organizing the Vietnam GameVerse 2023, Vietnam's first game festival, in HCMC, his department and the organizing committee were quite worried about rightousness and community response.

"But today, at the press conference to announce the second year of the event, those questions have been answered. We are on the right track," he affirmed.

From a game festival organized last year, this year's event has evolved into an international exhibition.

He said the Vietnamese gaming industry has never been as "vigorous" as it has been over the past year. However, this development has only appeared in the game distribution sector, while game production has not grown correspondingly.

"We really hope that at Vietnam Gameverse 2024, we can address this issue together, to take Vietnamese games to the global stage," he said.

The press conference was attended by media agencies, game publishers and producers, the gaming community, content creators, among others.

Le Quang Tu Do, Head of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications, speaks at the event to announce Vietnam GameVerse 2024, Jan. 18, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Accompanying the event from its first season, streamer and content creator Dang Tien Hoang, known by the nickname VirusS, considers Gameverse to be the most comprehensive event about games to date.

He said that in the past, when attending international gaming events, he felt a bit disappointed because Vietnam did not have an event that encompassed all aspects of investment, production, distribution, etc., in the gaming industry.

"Vietnam Gameverse has achieved this. I hope in the future the event will have more activities, including tournaments and entertainment activities... to support community development," Hoang said.

Vietnam GameVerse 2024 will have the theme "Beyond the game." The event starts from December 2023 and concludes with the international game exhibition and conference on May 18 - 19 in Ho Chi Minh City, with many activities extending and expanding from the first season.

Vietnam Game Awards 2024 will have more activities than last year.

The awards will focus on honoring products, services, communities, and individuals related to the gaming field with outstanding achievements. There will be four main award categories: The Golden Galaxy, The Golden Sun, The Golden Star, and The Golden Gear.

Also, the awards in these four categories will change compared to 2023, increasing from 14 to 22 awards, in categories such as:

-The Golden Galaxy (Category for games published in Vietnam): Game of the Year, Timeless Game, Outstanding Mobile Game, Outstanding Game Publisher, Most Loved Game Community.

-The Golden Sun (Category for Vietnamese games): Vietnamese Game of the Year, Outstanding Vietnamese Mobile Game, Vietnamese Game with Excellent Graphic Design, Vietnamese Game with the Best Gameplay, Vietnamese Game with the Best Storyline, Outstanding Vietnamese Indie Game.

-The Golden Star (Category for Esports in Vietnam): Outstanding Esports Game, Outstanding Esports Team, Outstanding Esports Athlete, Most Loved Esports Community.

-The Golden Gear (Category for devices, products, services related to the gaming field): Outstanding Gaming Laptop, Outstanding Gaming Phone, Outstanding Gaming Monitor, Outstanding Gaming Headset, Most Loved Network Provider, Most Loved Payment Channel, Gamers' Favorite Beverage.

At the event, businesses and experts will discuss attractive topics in the gaming industry or share interesting stories in the profession, such as how to attract investment for game products in Vietnam or what to do to attract and train human resources for the Vietnamese gaming industry.

The highlight of Vietnam GameVerse 2024 is the GameHub activity - a program helping game development units to promote and attract investors to support new game projects to improve quality and reach the market sooner.

Additionally, the event will dedicate space and time slots for business networking activities. The organizing committee expects to open up recruitment opportunities and attract talent, actively promoting connections, cooperation, and investment among units in the Vietnamese and international gaming ecosystem.

With an expanded scale and a series of attractive activities, the two-day event is expected to attract 30,000 attendees. The Vietnam GameVerse 2024 is anticipated to be one of the gaming events receiving attention from regulatory agencies, experts in the field, producers, publishers, and the gaming community both domestically and internationally.