Funtap Games and the Shift in Vietnam's Mobile Game Publishing
Vietnamese publisher Funtap Games was named Game Publisher of the Year at the Vietnam Game Awards 2026. As foreign studios face high day-one churn and unique payment dynamics, local publishing has evolved from simple licensing into full-lifecycle operations covering compliance, e-wallet integration, community management, and upstream development.
Source: GameLook
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Expanding Beyond Import Publishing in Vietnam
At the Vietnam Game Awards 2026, organized by the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information and VnExpress, Funtap Games won Game Publisher of the Year. Its co-operated strategy title Last War: Survival（Last War: Survival） won Most Popular Game Community. Founded in 2015, Funtap has serviced over 350 titles, amassing 50 million registered accounts and 6.3 million monthly active users, with a catalog featuring Mobile Legends: Bang Bang（无尽对决）, Genshin Impact（原神）, and Arknights: Endfield（明日方舟：终末地）.
Funtap structures operations around compliance, localization, payments, marketing, and live community management. In the first quarter of 2026, internal data showed that nearly all foreign titles required supplementary compliance documentation, with 30% needing art, text, or technical revisions and 10% needing bespoke regulatory planning. Standard licensing reviews average roughly 20 business days for complete submissions across G1 and G2 categories.
Structural Gaps in Retention and Monetization
Operating in Vietnam reveals sharp behavioral divides. According to Adjust data from early 2026, domestic day-one mobile retention sits at 19% against a 28% global average, falling to 5% by day seven compared to 14% worldwide. However, average play sessions rose to 32.88 minutes in early 2026, hitting 48.91 minutes for strategy games. This divergence shows rapid casual churn alongside concentrated core user engagement.
Payment behavior also demands local infrastructure. Coda and Niko Partners found that off-store payments across Southeast Asia climbed from 21% to 38% in two years, with e-wallets driving 41% of Vietnamese gaming transactions. Meanwhile, Niko Partners reported that 91% of Vietnamese players treat localization quality as an essential consideration. For marketing, 52% trust YouTube most for game discoveries, and 65% of esports audiences bought creator-endorsed products in the past month.
Strategic Shifts to Co-Publishing and Studio R&D
Publishers are moving from licensing agents to full lifecycle operators. In March 2026, Com2uS Holdings partnered with Funtap to release six titles locally, starting with Soul Strike（放置魂勇士）. Funtap is also channeling capital into domestic Vietnamese development studios. The test ahead lies in whether extensive operational data can translate into original development capabilities and cross-market scalability.