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Supercell pulls games out of Vietnam in face of regulations

Likes of Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars no longer playable in the country

Supercell pulls games out of Vietnam in face of regulations

Clash of Clans developer Supercell has pulled its games from the App Store and Google Play in Vietnam due to infringing local regulations.

VNExpress reports that Vietnamese authorities are currently cracking down on online games that break its rules, including regulations around the use of gambling, violence, profanity or distortion of history. Games must also be approved before release.

On top of these rules, the local government also requires foreign companies to collaborate with Vietnamese firms or establish their own office in the country.

The report claims 142 games have been removed from the App Store and Google Play in Vietnam since 2017.

Regulatory brawl

Supercell’s portfolio of titles includes Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars, none of which are now available in Vietnam.

Not just no longer to download, users will not be able to continue playing the games.

The Finnish developer said that players who purchased items in its games are not eligible for refunds despite the move. Users can retain their game progress through the use of a Supercell ID account.

There is no timeline for if or when Supercell’s titles will be available again in the country.

"Although we will keep an open dialogue with our local partners and the government we haven’t yet been able to find a good long-term solution that would enable us to continue our operations in Vietnam,” read a statement from Supercell.

“We hope that this is not a goodbye and we will try to find the right ways to continue developing our games to our Vietnamese players.”

It added: “We will continue the dialogue with the local partners and the government. We hope this is not a goodbye for Vietnam as we keep looking for solutions to bring our games back in the future. Currently we don’t know if and when we will come back.”

The Pocket Gamer Connects conference will be heading to Supercell's hometown Helsinki on October 1st to 2nd. Head to the website for details.


Head of Content

Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.