Over 50% of Vietnam population plays mobile games as MMORPGs and 4X dominate spending
| Date | Type | Companies Involved | Key Datapoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2026 | report | $825 million |
- More than half of Vietnam's population plays mobile games, as downloads and revenue both grew in 2025.
- Midcore games are driving player spending as Vietnamese players show a preference for purchases with instant benefits.
- More players are gaming on Android than iOS.
- Game makers in Vietnam include iKame Games, Panthera, ABI Game Studio and Corochti.
As downloads and player spending grow annually, Vietnam’s impact on the games industry is expanding.
The country spent $825 million on mobile games last year, a rise of 9% year-over-year, with growth drivers shifting from in-app purchase channels to more local payment options.
According to Gamota’s Vietnam Mobile Gaming Year in Review 2025, progression-driven genres like MMORPGs and 4X are dominating revenue shares, reflecting trends seen across other Asian markets like China and South Korea.
The report indicates a reliance on deep progression systems over casual experiences when it comes to in-app spending, as sandbox games may be motivating a massive number of installs but struggle to make proportional revenue. Still, they have potential for high ad revenue.
Players expect an instant payoff for their in-game purchases, especially in the mobile RPG space. Visible, immediate power gains and a sense of competitive advantage appear to be driving the Vietnamese to spend.
What to play?
Vietnam has approximately 54m mobile gamers with up to 10% being paying users. The majority play on Android devices, at 57%, versus 43% on iOS. Up to 3% of the country’s gamers are classed as high spenders.
With over half the country’s population playing games, Vietnam is among the world’s top seven markets for downloads on mobile. Its players average 2.5 hours of gaming time per day on the platform and highly engaged players can be retained for up to five years - potentially longer in the right conditions. Such gamers engage almost daily.
Meanwhile, even the more casual gamers are likely to play two or three times per week, seeking quick, spontaneous entertainment.
The market largely skews towards Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who enjoy manga and anime IPs like Attack on Titan, One Punch Man and Dragon Ball Z. When it comes to mobile games, fantasy is the most popular theme right now, representing 22% of installs and 31% of revenue across the market’s top 50 games.
Including "oriental fantasy", that revenue share grows to 43%.
As for spending on individual mobile titles, few can compete with Garena Free Fire, Last War: Survival and Coin Master. Adding Arena of Valor and Rise of Kingdoms to the list rounds out the top five - encompassing more than a third of all mobile revenue in Vietnam.
In fact, these five titles alone account for 36% of all mobile spending in the country.
Garena Free Fire and Arena of Valor are also among the most downloaded games in the region, joined by Roblox, Block Blast and Return to Childhood. These five games accounted for 33% of all mobile downloads in 2025.
Local development
Naturally, Vietnam isn’t just home to gamers but to game developers, too. While many of the top-grossing games come from overseas, Vietnamese studio Corochti has reached the upper echelons of its home country’s downloads chart with Return to Childhood.
Other local developers include iKame Games, OneSoft, Panthera and ABI Game Studio, the latter having more than 2bn installs across its portfolio. Ubisoft has operated out of Vietnam via its Da Nang studio since 2019.
Doors Studio, another Vietnamese developer established in 2024, has just partnered with SayGames to publish midcore title BagMaster Isekai globally. And, social games developer Playard is experimenting with AI efficiency and expanding its team following investment from Replay Global.
Much like China, Vietnamese regulators require mobile games to acquire a government licence to operate in the country. Decree 147 sees authorities work with platform holders like Google and Apple to remove games that haven’t received approval.
As stricter regulations have come into play, AppMagic estimates suggest monthly player spending fell to a four-year low this February. Between the App Store and Play Store, player spending in Vietnam tumbled from $30m in December 2025 to $20.8m in January, before reaching a low point of $19.2m in February. A rebound to $22.4m was recorded in March.
At the same time, recent regulations have increased the importance of local partnerships for international studios, a potential boon for Vietnamese developers. And, Gamota’s report does indicate a shift away from in-app purchases to alternative methods of spending, which wouldn't be included in Play Store and App Store figures.
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