Recap of the Week

• Đấu La Đại Lục: Thế Giới Săn Hồn quickly entered the Top 15 revenue chart in its first recorded week, highlighting the early appeal of MMORPGs adapted from familiar IPs in Vietnam.
• June opened with a fairly packed international mobile release calendar, spanning horror, football, tower defense, and MMORPG titles, adding further pressure to the competition for user attention in the mobile market.
• SECRET WAG won the FFWS SEA 2026 Spring championship for Vietnam’s Free Fire scene, becoming the first Vietnamese team to lift the FFWS SEA trophy on home soil.
• Lê Quang Liêm joined Team Flash VN Chess to compete at the Esports World Cup 2026, marking a notable crossover between traditional chess and the esports competition model.
• Vietnam Game Connect 2026 continued to be positioned as an important B2B platform for Vietnam’s game industry, focusing on connecting studios, publishers, platforms, investors, and UA/monetization/growth teams.

Market & Game Performance

Dynamic ranking: RPG and live-service titles saw notable movement this week

AppMagic data this week shows that Vietnam’s Top 50 mobile game revenue chart recorded notable movement among titles with deep progression systems, ranging from team battlers to MMORPGs. On one hand, established live-service titles such as Honkai: Star Rail – 3T Online and Nghịch Thủy Hàn saw strong ranking gains. On the other hand, a new title based on the Đấu La Đại Lục IP quickly entered the Top 50 revenue chart in its early launch phase.

Rank Spike: Honkai: Star Rail and Nghịch Thủy Hàn recorded significant ranking gains

During the week, two titles recorded ranking increases of 10 positions or more compared with the previous week:

• Honkai: Star Rail – 3T Online rose 17 positions to #18, with estimated revenue of $44,040.
• Nghịch Thủy Hàn rose 16 positions to #31, with estimated revenue of $26,250.

The simultaneous ranking gains of Honkai: Star Rail – 3T Online and Nghịch Thủy Hàn show that live-service games with deep progression systems can still generate clear short-term revenue movement when activated by new content, in-game events, or returning core players. These products usually have stronger player attachment than casual games, so when there is a strong enough reason to return, spending behavior can rise quickly within a single week.

Revenue Spike: Honkai: Star Rail – 3T Online revenue increased by 132.69%

The most notable case this week was Honkai: Star Rail – 3T Online. The game not only climbed 17 positions in the ranking but also recorded a 132.69% revenue increase compared with the previous week. This is a strong signal because the increase appeared in both ranking and revenue, suggesting that the movement was not only driven by declines from other games, but was likely supported by a real product-side catalyst.

The reason may come from a major update during the week. Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.3, “The Lethe Below the Living,” was announced shortly before the observation week. Mortenax Blade was the new character of Version 4.3 and was scheduled to become available on June 3, 2026.

Source: Honkai: Star Rail – 3T Online

For major gacha/live-service games, the first week of an update is often the period when spending is most concentrated. Players return to experience new content, try new characters, and use resources accumulated from previous weeks. In the case of Honkai: Star Rail, Mortenax Blade was the only new character in Version 4.3, so the banner’s appeal may have been more concentrated rather than split across multiple new characters at the same time.

New Entrant: Đấu La Đại Lục: Thế Giới Săn Hồn entered the Top 15 revenue chart this week

This week recorded one new title entering the Top 50 revenue chart: Đấu La Đại Lục: Thế Giới Săn Hồn reached #15, with estimated revenue of $56,090.

Đấu La Đại Lục: Thế Giới Săn Hồn belongs to the MMORPG category and is tied to the Soul Land / Đấu La Đại Lục IP. This is notable because familiar IPs can help lower the initial awareness barrier, especially among players who already know the original novel, anime/donghua, or previous game adaptations.

The case of Đấu La Đại Lục: Thế Giới Săn Hồn is particularly notable because it entered directly at #15 in the week. Public sources previously described the product as a cross-platform open-world 3D MMORPG brought to Vietnam by Funtap, featuring elements such as hunting Soul Beasts, absorbing Soul Rings and Soul Bones, and developing characters in line with the spirit of the original IP. The game’s ability to generate revenue quickly in its early launch phase is a positive signal that MMORPGs adapted from Chinese IPs can still attract players in Vietnam, especially when they combine strong IP recognition, launch incentives, and a sufficiently deep progression system.

From a market perspective, this new entrant shows that early June was not only marked by the return of major live-service titles, but also by new competition from the MMORPG segment. This may increase UA costs and the level of competition for user attention in the RPG/MMORPG segment in the short term, especially when multiple products are targeting role-playing audiences with relatively high spending potential.

New Releases & Major Updates: June opened with several new mobile titles

Source: GameK

According to GameK, June 2026 opened with a fairly active mobile release calendar, covering several genres including horror, football, tower defense, and MMORPG. During the week of June 1–7, two notable titles were Among the Sleep, which launched its mobile version on June 2, and Kickoff Football 2026: Be A Pro, which launched on June 5.

Among the Sleep is a horror title that previously gained attention on PC and has now been brought to mobile. Its key difference is that players take on the role of a two-year-old child rather than a traditional action-oriented character. This approach creates a sense of unease through perspective, sound, and atmosphere, rather than relying on combat mechanics.

Meanwhile, Kickoff Football 2026: Be A Pro focuses on real-time online football gameplay, with a FIFPro license and a partnership with the French national team. The product targets players who enjoy fast-paced sports games where control skills and reflexes play an important role.

What stands out is that June is not opening with only a few isolated releases, but with a fairly packed mobile release calendar. This may make competition for user attention stronger, especially as players have more new choices at the same time. For publishers in Vietnam, launch timing, positioning, and the ability to create a strong communication hook during the first week will become increasingly important.

Esports & Community

SECRET WAG won FFWS SEA 2026 Spring, marking a new regional milestone for Vietnam’s Free Fire scene

Source: VietnamPlus

On June 1, VietnamPlus reported that SECRET WAG won the Free Fire World Series Southeast Asia 2026 Spring after defeating strong regional competitors. The Vietnamese team received a prize of VND 2.6 billion, approximately $100,000, and became the first Vietnamese representative to lift the FFWS SEA trophy on home soil.

The grand final took place in Ho Chi Minh City, attracting around 1,500 on-site spectators and more than 300,000 online viewers. SECRET WAG secured four Booyahs across six matches, becoming the first team to finish a Champion Rush grand final in only six games.

This victory is not only a team achievement. It shows that Vietnam’s Free Fire scene still has a strong competitive community, with the ability to attract both online and offline audiences. For international publishers and esports organizations, this is a positive signal of Vietnam’s potential for tournament hosting, fanbase building, and esports ecosystem development.

Lê Quang Liêm joined Team Flash, expanding the boundary between chess and esports

Source: Tuổi Trẻ/VietnamNet

During the week, Vietnam’s top chess player Lê Quang Liêm announced that he had joined Team Flash VN Chess to compete at the Esports World Cup 2026. This is a notable move as one of Vietnam’s leading grandmasters officially joins an esports organization to compete on an international stage.

According to Tuổi Trẻ, Lê Quang Liêm’s presence helps Team Flash reach audiences who follow intellectual sports, while also creating momentum to bring chess closer to younger generations. VietnamNet also described this as a notable crossover between traditional chess and modern competitive gaming.

From an industry perspective, this move shows that esports is expanding beyond familiar categories such as MOBA, FPS, and battle royale. Chess, with its online competition infrastructure and global viewership, is being integrated more systematically into the digital competition ecosystem. This opens up opportunities for Vietnamese esports organizations to build multi-discipline brands rather than focusing only on traditional esports titles.

Industry & Business Developments

Vietnam Game Connect 2026 positioned itself as a B2B platform for the growth of Vietnam’s game industry

Source: Vietnam.vn 

During the week, Vietnam.vn shared information about Vietnam Game Connect 2026, a B2B event positioned as a long-term connection platform for Vietnam’s game industry. The event is scheduled to take place on July 16, 2026, in Hanoi, bringing together studios, publishers, platforms, investors, service providers, ad networks, and teams working directly in UA, monetization, product, growth, and business development.

According to the official website, Vietnam Game Connect 2026 is built on the foundation of VGC 2025, shifting the focus from “market understanding” to “real collaboration.” The event aims to unlock Vietnam’s game market through partnership, execution, and growth.

What makes VGC 2026 notable is that it is not positioned as just another networking event. Its agenda focuses on practical operational challenges in the game industry, including user acquisition, monetization, retention, LiveOps, publishing, market expansion, and growth infrastructure. These are the capabilities many Vietnamese studios need to strengthen if they want to move beyond a model centered mainly on high-volume game production.

For international partners, Vietnam Game Connect can become an important touchpoint for finding promising studios, publishing partners, or growth opportunities in Vietnam. For local studios, the event offers additional access to international resources, from distribution platforms, advertising, and payment solutions to investment and co-publishing opportunities.

References

1. 6 tựa game di động siêu hấp dẫn, chuẩn bị ra mắt vào tháng 6 này!
2. Vietnamese team crowned FFWS SEA esports champion
3. Lê Quang Liêm công bố quyết định quan trọng ở giải đấu Esports triệu USD
4. Chess star Le Quang Liem joins Team Flash for Esports World Cup 2026
5. Việt Nam đang trở thành thị trường game sôi động nhất Đông Nam Á
6. Vietnam Game Connect 2026
7. Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.3 The Lethe Below the Living Officially Revealed
8. Mortenax Blade kit explained: Skills, Eidolons, and more!
9. Đấu La Đại Lục: Thế Giới Săn Hồn game nhập vai 3D về Việt Nam