Games Nexus 2026: Turning Passion into Products to Elevate Vietnam’s Game Industry
Summary
As Vietnam’s game industry shifts from competing on scale to competing on quality, Games Nexus 2026, organised by BUV, provided students with opportunities to connect with industry professionals, develop career-ready skills, and prepare for future roles in the game industry.
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Vietnam’s gaming sector is experiencing rapid growth. According to a report by GameGeek, Vietnam’s mobile gaming market generated approximately USD 825 million in revenue in 2025 and reached around 54 million players, placing the country among the world’s top seven markets for game downloads.
However, to compete globally, Vietnam’s game industry needs more than a growing workforce. It requires developers who are genuinely passionate about their craft, willing to continuously learn, improve, and refine their products. This was also the central theme of Games Nexus 2026, BUV’s annual industry engagement event for students enrolled in its Game-related undergraduate programmes.
This year’s event brought together 14 game companies, including top-tiered studios such as Gameloft, Garena, Sparx*, PlayStudios, etc. and 38 industry professionals, providing students with the opportunity to showcase 20 game projects and creative works to recruiters and experts. Beyond receiving professional feedback, students gained valuable insights into industry expectations and expanded their professional networks from an early stage in their studies.
Speaking at the event, Camille Thomas, Studio Operations Director at Sparx*, highlighted that while Vietnam has already established a strong position in terms of market size, the next phase of growth will depend on the quality of its talent pipeline.
What makes many of these students stand out is not only their technical skills but also the passion and dedication they bring to their work. Portfolios built from genuine passion often demonstrate creativity, depth of thought, and a commitment to continuous improvement – qualities that employers in the industry highly value.
If passion is the starting point, self-learning is what transforms that passion into professional capability. This was another quality frequently recognised by employers attending Games Nexus.
BUV students demonstrate excellent self-learning abilities. Compared to the average student, they show a high level of proficiency in game development tools such as Unity and Unreal Engine.
He added: “In a market where opportunities are increasingly available for indie game developers to bring their products to a global audience, the more passion students have – and the more they invest in self-learning – the greater their chances of success.”
Games Nexus is not only designed for final-year students seeking employment opportunities. It also helps first-year students begin building their portfolios, develop industry-facing skills, and gain a clearer understanding of employer expectations.
Nguyen Phuong Linh, a first-year student in Game Design and Programming, shared: “Although I am only in my first year, I had the opportunity to participate in the event and meet industry representatives. The experience made me realise that being passionate and talking endlessly about the technical aspects of a game is not enough. I have learned the importance of presenting ideas effectively and communicating the value of my product.”
This reflects a growing trend across the game industry: success depends not only on creating a strong product, but also on the ability to communicate ideas, engage stakeholders, and connect with players. For many students, Games Nexus provides an opportunity to start developing these skills early.
Through Games Nexus, BUV continues to bridge the gap between academia and industry, helping nurture the next generation of game developers – individuals who combine passion with professional capability to create high-quality products and contribute to the continued growth of Vietnam’s game industry.
