Global Game and GameFi Regional Market Report Series — Vietnam(Part1): Vietnam Game Industry

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Preface

In 2021, the number of global gamers exceeded 3 billion. As the market with the largest number of players in the world, the Asia-Pacific region maintains the highest number of players (about 55% of global players) while maintaining a considerable annual growth rate (up to 4.8%). Generally speaking, huge population and expanding Internet coverage and the limitations of people’s entertainment methods during Covid- 19 pandemic have created a lot of demand and opportunities for the game industry. In the last report, we explored the Korean game market and its local blockchain game market. The Korean game market is dominated by local conventional game giants. The blockchain game market is also dominated by three game ecosystems: Wemix, Marblex and Neopin. Whereas most blockchain game projects are deployed on the local Layer 1 blockchain Klaytn. Therefore, the type of game project reflects the “conservative” strategy of the chain game studio: to launch a “chain reform” version of traditional games. In this report, we will learn about another rising star in the Asia-Pacific region that cannot be underestimated, combining rapid development and continuous innovation — the Vietnamese game and chain game market.

Overview of Game Industry in Vietnam

Vietnamese conventional game manufacturer Amantoes and OneSoft occupy the top two positions in the ANZSEA (Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia) region with disparate advantage in downloads. At the same time, “Axie Infinity” by blockchain studio Sky Mavis is also regarded as a pioneer in the era of blockchain games.

According to APP Annie’s 2020 report, Vietnam became the second largest game market in the Southeast Asian market in terms of downloads, accounting for 22% of the region’s total game downloads (behind Indonesia’s 38%). Game downloads in the Vietnam increased by 10% and revenue generated by games grew by 50% annually. The rapid flourish of Vietnam gaming industry in recent two years caught our attention.

A year later, in 2021, among the top ten game publishers by downloads in the entire ANZSEA (Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia) region, 5 of them from Vietnam, including the top two.

The Characteristics of Vietnam Gaming Industry & The causes of booming

Vietnam is regarded as a natural incubator for games and blockchain games.

The characteristics of Vietnam’s game market also contribute to the rapid rise of its gaming industry and the field of blockchain game.

1. Demographic factor: Vietnam’s young demographic is a natural advantage for the game industry, because young population pumps the demand for games, whereas showing tolerance for the innovations in game industry.

The dramatically growth of Vietnam’s game industry is supported by its young population base. Vietnam is a young country, with a population of 97.8 million in 2020 with a median age of 32.7 years (7.6 years younger than Thailand and 5.7 years younger than the United States). In addition, Vietnam has 68 million smartphone users nationwide, and users spend an average of 3.9 hours a day gaming (10% more than the average American user).

2. Player distribution factor: Young players take over the gamers population, generating a large demand for games and innovations. The main game players with limited financial capability also promotes the demand for PlayToEarn blockchain games. Therefore, Vietnam has become the birthplace of blockchain games.

As shown in the figure below, among Vietnamese players, 70% of the players are between the ages of 18–35, and players aged 18–24 account for about 1/3 of the total players. The average age of gamers in Vietnam is only 30.1 years old.

3. Population’s enthusiasm towards games: The sustainable enthusiasm towards games and related industries becomes motivation for game developers.

Local players in Vietnam continue to pay attention to games and game-related fields. As shown in the figure below, since 2020, mobile game users have increased 48%, console game users have raised 49%, and PC game users have increased 38%. As for the game-related industries, In 2020, the number of audience of watching game streamers increased by 41% the number of audiences in 2021 maintain a substantial increase, with a year-on-year increase of 31%. The audiences for eSports events in Vietnam has also experienced significant growth, with a year-on-year increase of 39% in 2020 and a 32% increase in 2021. For game companies, the sustainable rise of attention is the driving force for game development.

4. Game studio’s product strategy factors: Vietnamese game manufacturers adopt the strategy of producing easy-to-start games and casual games to penetrate the market rapidly and efficiently with lower producing costs and faster product development.

5. The adoption rate of Crypto-currency: The adoption rate of crypto-currency in Vietnam is 6% of the total population. This is an natural endowment for the development of blockchain based games.

According to statistical data from TripleA, nearly 6 million people (about 6 % of the population) own crypto assets, the adoption rate of crypto currency in Vietnam could rank as top five in the worldwide. According to Chainalysis, Vietnam is also one of the most active crypto markets in the global.

Considering that Vietnam is still heavily rely on cash, the adoption rate of cryptocurrencies is considerably high. Vietnam’s youth skipped computers and directly concentrated on using mobile devices. Today, the same story is happening with cryptocurrencies. Although not verified by the government, crypto currencies have become a popular investment asset. The Covid- 19 and “Axie Infinity” contributed to the growing appeal of crypto currencies in Vietnam.

6. The devastating economic effects caused by Covid-19: Covid-19 caused negative impacts on the national economy, combined with the financial limitations of young game players further promoted the development of blockchain game industry.

Vietnam’s economy has been suffering from the impact of the epidemic. In 2020, Vietnam’s economy only grew by 2.91%, in 2021, growth rate further slowed, with an increase of 2.58%. The economic recession stroke traditional investments such as real estate and gold, while interest rates have been falling, crypto currency became one of the best choice among Vietnamese. Combined with the above-mentioned factors such as the demographic distribution of players, enthusiasm for games, and adoption rate of digital currency, the development of the blockchain game field has been further promoted.

Vietnam game Manufacturers by category

◼ The fastest-growing Vietnamese TOP5 game manufacturers & their

development process in Blockchain in 2021 (Statistical source: Data.ai

download rating)

1. Amanotes：

Founded in 2014, adhering to the vision of “Everyone Can Music”, it mainly promotes music fusion games. It is the most downloaded game publisher in ANZSEA(Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia). According to statistics, in 2019, the number of game downloads launched by Amantoes exceeded 250 million. Just three years later, as of the report date, the number of game downloads reached 2 billion. Daily active users reach 15 million, and monthly active players are about 120 million.

Main business： Leisure, Music, rhythm, Action game

Representative works：“Magic Tiles 3” , “Music Night Battle”,“Ball Jump” series

Development in the field of blockchain：

Vinh Hoang, the former director of game development and simulation department, announced the establishment of the decentralized music + game entertainment platform Cadenverse in March 2022, and Amantoes participated in the investment.

2. One Soft:

Founded in 2010, OneSoft is an Android game developer specializing in flight shooting games. In addition, OneSoft is also a game incubation platform. The games launched by OneSoft currently have more than 300 million downloads and 5 million daily active users.

Main business：Leisure, shooting games

Representative works：“The Falcons: Galactic Attack”, “Air Force 1945”, “Block Puzzle-Cute Emoji”

Development in the field of blockchain：

Cooperated with OnePad to launch a pixel NFT style tank chariot style turn-based game “MetaGear”

3. Game Jam:

Founded in 2019, it specializes in hyper-casual games. So far, it has released nearly 30 games, with more than 130 million game downloads. Game Jam became the fastest growing hyper-casual mobile game publisher in the world in the third quarter of 2020.

Main business ：Casual level break games

Representative works ：“Get the Girl”，“Toilet Games 3D”，“Draw Story”，

“Marshmello Music Dance”

Development in the field of blockchain：

In 2022, the development of the L1 public chain Jamchain will begin

4. Vina Game(VNG):

Founded in 2004, it is the largest Internet company in Vietnam, with a variety of digital content products such as: Zalo, Zing MP3, 123Pay, CSM, etc. Produced a variety of large-scale online games

Main business ：MMORPG ，Casual, Competition games

Representative works ：“Song of the City on the Cloud”, “Swordsman Love”, “Twin Fantasy”, “One Punch Man”

Development in the field of blockchain:

N/A

5. Arrasol:

The website is currently unavailable

Major business: Action, Turn-based casual games

Representative works ：“Ninja Hero-The Super Battle” ，“Dice Maters”

Development in the field of blockchain：

N/A

◼ Statistics of Vietnamese traditional game companies not listed in the fastest growing TOP5 (Ranked by cumulative downloads)

1. ABI Game Studio:

Founded in 2014 by the OneSoft team, it specializes in casual action games and currently has 108 games online.

Major business ：Casual, Action games

Representative works ：“Galaxy Attack: Alien Shooter”, “Fish”，“Moto Bike: Off road Racing” ，“Red Imposter”

Development in the field of blockchain：

In February 2022, the game ecological platform ABI Galaverse and the first blockchain shooting game GalaxyAttack will be launched

2. Zego Studio:

A local traditional game manufacturer in Vietnam, it currently has 43 games online, with a total of 500 million players worldwide and 5 million daily active players. Major business ：Casual, Business games

Representativeworks ：“Farm City”，“Cooking Dream”，“IDLE PRISON TYCOON”

Development in the field of blockchain：

Participate in the investment chain game project Elpis Battle

3. Bravestars Games:

Founded in 2013, the team has now expanded to 60 people, and more than 70

games have been launched, with 300 million downloads.

Major business：Action, Real-time strategy, Casual games

Representative works: “Shadow of Death: Dark Knight”，“Hero of Empire: War Clash”

Development in the field of blockchain:

The first card battle chain game HeroFi launched in September 2021.

4. XGame Studio:

The Android game developer established in 2019 currently has 47 games online, mainly action games.

Major business ：Casual, Action games

Representative works ： “Girl Runner 3D” ， “Money Run 3D” ， “Stickman Vs Craftman”

Development in the field of blockchain：

N/A

5. TOH Games:

TOHSOFT is a software manufacturer founded in 2016. It currently produces 18 games, mainly action games. Single game Ninja warrior: legend of adventure games has more than 50 million downloads.

Major business：Action, Adventure games

Representative works：“Ninja warrior: legend of adventure games” ， “Super Machino go: world adventure game”，“Shadow Fighter: Sword”, “Ninja, RPG & Fighting Games”

Development in the field of blockchain:

N/A

◼ Statistics of traditional game makers entering the chain game field faster(Ranked by downloads)

1. Topebox:

Founded in 2012 by GameLoft and VNG veterans, the current team size is 60 people. More than 50 games have been launched, with a cumulative download of more than 100 million. It is a game manufacturer that develops both traditional games and blockchain games.

Major business ：Leisure, Action games

Representative works: “Gun & Dungeons”, “Thief Rivals” ，“Sky Dancer”

Representative works (blockchain games):

“My DeFi Pet”: Farm farming game

“Titan Hunters”: MOBA game

“Ark Rivals”: Real-time strategy game

2. Wolffun Game:

Founded in 2014, a Vietnamese game maker, the team has grown from 4 people at the beginning to more than 30 people at present. Focusing on the development of MOBA games since 2015, the first MOBA game “The tan Arena” in the blockchain game will be launched at the end of November 2021, and the cumulative number of players will reach 20 million within three months.

Major business ：MOBA games

Representative works： “Heroes Strike” ，“Tank Raid”

Representative works (blockchain games):

“Thetan Arena”: 4v4 role-playing MOBA game

3. Imba Games:

Founded in 2015, it is a local casual game maker in Vietnam. The game styles produced are casual development and action games, and there are many blockchain games produced recently.

Major business ：Intellectual ，Casual ，Action games

Representative works ：“Kawaii Puzzle — My Pocket World 2D” ，“Kawaii Mansion: Cute Hidden Object Game” ，“Archer Hunter — Master Of Arrow”

Representative works (blockchain games)：

“Heroes & Empires”: Turn-Based Card Battle Game

“Kawaii Islands | An Anime Metaverse”: Farm farming, home decorating social game

“Overleague | Cars For Metaverse”: Car racing game

4. Hiker Games:

An old-fashioned traditional game maker established in Vietnam, renamed Hiker Games from Emobi Game. Developed the first 3D game “7554” in Vietnam.

Major business：Action, Casual games

Representative works: “7554”, “Caravan War”, “Dai Minh Chu”

Representative works (blockchain games):

“HeroVerse”: real-time strategy + matchmaking casual game

5. Beemob:

A small traditional game casual game manufacturer, the team currently has a total of 25 people.

Major business ：Tower-Defense, Business-Managing games

Representative works： “Cooking Speedy Restaurant”, “Cyber War: Defense and RPG”, “BeCastle”

Representative works (blockchain games)：

“Idle Cyber”: NFT hero tower defense game

[Disclosure]: The information contained in this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice, and Chain Capital assumes no responsibility for the information or the results resulting from the use of the information.