Asia is no stranger to success in the eSports world, though the accomplishments of the continent are generally centralized in South Korea and Japan. Vietnam is one of the countries looking to shake up that status quo, with recent developments and growing involvement in the eSports environment poising the SE Asian nation for a strong future. While tastes are slightly different than those of their neighbors, the accomplishments of Vietnam in eSports and the growth of the Vietnamese eSports market are warming up, and the 2020s could be their time to shine.
Gaming and Competitive Growth
According to eSports Earnings, Vietnamese players are ranked 23rd in the world in prize money won. While some of the games where they excel are worldwide hits like PUBG and League of Legends, other titles where they routinely perform well are titles less familiar to western audiences or less expected.
The most won by a single Vietnamese player is over $3.7 million, claimed by player Quốc Huy Nguyễn in the mobile MOBA Arena of Valor. This game is huge in SE Asia, alongside another mobile MOBA game that Vietnam has performed well in, Free Fire. More famous internationally is FIFA Online 4, the success of which makes sense given Vietnam’s adoption of football as a national sport.
Regarding viewership, ESCharts notes CS:GO as a popular eSport with audiences. Attracting more than 127,000 peak viewers from Vietnam, this inclusion is interesting, with Vietnam not yet having any high-performing CS:GO teams.
The expansion of eSports within the country is reflected in the overall growth of the video game market. Statista notes that the market was valued at $105 million in 2017, more than tripling its size to $382 million in 2023. With involvement increasing rapidly, the potential for the coming generation of players is immense.
Indirect Industry Involvement
Further illustrations of how far eSports within Vietnam have come can be seen in the development of dedicated eSports stadiums. New investments like the Venus e-Sports Stadium in Hue are looking to capitalize on current success and future growth with support for tournaments in League of Legends and other popular PC games. In the downtime, these will function as gaming cafes, like what Korea offers with its PC-Bang setups.
Another area that has contributed to this are sports betting services. 188Bet and other sites offer support for the eSports games Vietnamese players love to play and watch. Offering bets on CS:GO, LoL, DOTA 2, and more, providing these bets alongside access to traditional casino games like blackjack, baccarat, and slots further helps the popularity and perception of professional gaming within the nation.
As of 2023, the Esports environment in Vietnam has come a long way, with each year accelerating the country and its players to new heights. Hooking into the high level of competition of the surrounding countries is likely to forge Vietnamese players into strong international competitors, so don’t be surprised to see their international standings quickly rise. Of course, if you’re playing in Europe or America, you can still blame losses against these players on latency.
