Pixels and Parades: How Gaming Is Becoming Vietnam’s New Cultural Stage

On a September evening in the capital, the convention hall was lit not by stage lights alone but by the glow of countless screens. Cosplayers in dragon armor mingled with performers in áo dài, while game designers explained to parents how storylines rooted in Vietnam’s 4,000-year history could become the next global hits. The “Vietnamese Games – From Cultural Identity to Global Aspiration” forum was more than just an industry event. It marked a cultural turning point.

In late August 2025, Vietnam officially elevated gaming into its pantheon of 12 cultural industries, placing it alongside film, music, and performing arts. What was once a regulated pastime has become a recognized pillar of national creativity and economic growth. The move is part of a broader cultural-industries strategy extending through 2045, designed to transform heritage into both soft power and revenue.

Culture in Play

At the Hanoi forum, People’s Artist Xuan Bac, director of the Department of Performing Arts, made the case for games as interactive stages. “Folklore and history are not only to be read or performed,” he said. “They can be played.” He imagined role-playing games that let players fight alongside the Trung Sisters, wander rice terraces in Sapa, or face dragons pulled from water-puppet lore. He argued for a “comprehensive gaming ecosystem” where digital adventures extend into live shows and even mainstream cultural festivals.

Industry leaders echoed that vision. Nguyen Ngoc Bao, CEO of VTC Multimedia Corporation, called gamers “cultural ambassadors” who spread Vietnamese identity across platforms. Le Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Copyright Office, emphasized the perceptual shift: from regulating youth playtime to protecting original creative IP that can compete internationally.

Economic Stakes

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism is drafting a roadmap that aims for $2.4 billion in gaming revenue by 2029, up from just over $1 billion today. Vietnam’s young, mobile-first population is the foundation—over 70 million gamers, more than two-thirds of the population, fuel demand.

Vietnam already ranks as the world’s leading exporter of mobile games by downloads. Indie sensation Flappy Bird proved a single Vietnamese developer could ignite a global craze, while domestic studios have steadily built titles that succeed regionally. Hits like Caravan War from Hiker Games weave in trade routes, folklore heroes, and national resilience, making them distinctly Vietnamese even as they compete globally.

Flappy Bird in action. Photo delivered/amc

Esports, recognized as a professional sport since 2020, adds momentum. Vietnamese teams
 regularly place in international tournaments, and stadiums now echo with chants of “Việt Nam vô địch!” as loudly for esports as for football. Tourism authorities see esports events as a draw for visitors, positioning gaming as part of Vietnam’s broader cultural economy.

But regulation remains strict: children under 18 are limited to 60 minutes per session and 180 minutes per day for online play, with platforms required to verify identities. The paradox—state promotion alongside parental caution—highlights the balancing act between economic ambition and social control.

From Pixels to Parades

Beyond economics, what makes Vietnam’s gaming story unique is its cultural texture. Developers are urged to embed heritage directly into gameplay: ancient strategies for war games, folklore characters in RPGs, or digital landscapes modeled on real scenic wonders. Games become “digital bridges” for heritage preservation, accessible to young players at home and audiences abroad.

This integration already spills into the street. Cosplay, once confined to underground conventions, now appears in Mid-Autumn Festival parades. Children march dressed as game characters alongside traditional lanterns. Fashion designers reimagine the áo dài with neon piping and cyberpunk influences. Street art borrows 8-bit aesthetics to render lotus flowers and dragons.

Performing arts are following suit. Some theaters have begun experimenting with incorporating game-inspired costumes or narratives into live shows. Xuan Bac’s vision of cosplay entering performing-arts programs no longer feels far-fetched.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s thriving GameFi sector—where gaming fuses with blockchain—has turned folklore artifacts into NFTs. Players can trade digital lacquer swords or water-puppet avatars, blending entrepreneurship with heritage.

The strategic mobile game Caravan War was developed by Hiker Games, which was founded in 2009. image supplied/amc

The Games that Made the Point

Vietnamese studios have already proven how cultural identity can be folded into global hits. Caravan War, developed by Hiker Games, borrows its mechanics from the country’s history of trade routes, transforming the flow of goods into a tower-defense battlefield. Hiker Games has also explored survival and resilience themes in 7554, a first-person shooter set during Vietnam’s war of independence against French colonial forces. Released in 2011, the game placed players in the shoes of Vietnamese soldiers, drawing directly on the nation’s historical narrative of endurance and struggle.

Even global blockbusters carry a Vietnamese imprint. Free Fire, published by Garena but built with Vietnamese developers’ input, channels battle tactics familiar to Vietnam’s competitive spirit, and today counts more than a billion downloads worldwide. And of course, no story about Vietnam’s gaming ascent can ignore Flappy Bird. Created by indie developer Dong Nguyen, its pixelated simplicity became a viral global craze—proof that Vietnamese creativity, even stripped to the barest essentials, can shake the industry and inspire a generation of developers.

Together, these titles show that Vietnam’s games are not just competing on mechanics or graphics. They succeed because they weave heritage, resilience, and local imagination into play, exporting national identity one download at a time.

Free Fire boasts impressive global engagement, having amassed over a billion downloads. image supplied/amc

Obstacles on the Horizon

The optimism has limits. Vietnam faces a shortage of creative talent, particularly in design and narrative. Many studios rely on outsourcing contracts for survival, delaying the push toward original IP. GameFi’s regulatory uncertainty adds another challenge, as authorities weigh how to treat crypto-linked gaming.

Still, forecasts suggest continued momentum: the sector could reach $2.7 billion by 2026, rivaling South Korea as a regional hub. What makes Vietnam stand out is its blend of tradition and tech. Few countries so explicitly encourage embedding folklore into game design, then elevate gaming to cultural-industry status.

Culture in Motion

Seen in the cafés of Ho Chi Minh City, where neon-lit gaming corners buzz late into the night, or at esports finals that resemble rock concerts, the cultural shift is undeniable. Families gather to watch matches together, grandparents teasing that the grandchildren are playing “digital football.” Festivals incorporate avatars into parades.

Vietnam’s recognition of gaming crystallizes a broader phenomenon already unfolding. In a country where stories once spread through water puppets and shadow plays, today’s myths are fought in battle royales and explored in mobile RPGs.

As one Hanoi gamer put it between matches: “This is not just a game. This is who we are—only in pixels.”

-Asia Media Centre