Vietnam wants 5,000 developers to turn its history into video games

The ambitious program is part of a sweeping government action plan to implement Politburo Resolution 80, a landmark directive on Vietnamese cultural development signed by Party General Secretary To Lam on Jan. 7.

The plan contains 131 tasks aimed at transforming the country’s cultural sector, with game development positioned as a key tool for making history education more engaging and accessible.

The training initiative reflects a broader push across Southeast Asia to harness the gaming industry for cultural purposes. Vietnam ranks first globally in game downloads on Google Play, according to figures presented at Vietnam GameVerse 2025, and the country had over 55 million gamers in 2024, roughly 54% of its population, according to market research firm Niko Partners.

Yet most successful Vietnamese-made games, such as Hoa and Caravan War, have drawn on settings unfamiliar to Vietnamese audiences rather than the country’s own history and heritage.

Beyond game development, the cultural action plan prioritizes sending 80 experts and artists abroad for advanced training each year, launching the Vietnam Talent Program for 2026-2035, and funding key research programs on Vietnamese civilization. A national strategy for cultural and artistic human resources will also be issued.

The government will establish a public-private culture and arts fund and introduce new partnership models for cultural institutions, following a dual approach of public investment with private management and vice versa. Financial resources will be directed toward talent training, digital transformation and commissioning high-value artistic works.

Binh also confirmed at the Feb. 25 conference that the designation of Nov. 24 as Vietnam Culture Day, a paid national holiday, will be written into law. The Politburo chose the date to mark the anniversary of the first National Cultural Conference in 1946.

The government will draft new laws on artistic activities, literature, copyright and cultural industries while amending laws on publishing, sports, tourism, libraries, cinema and cultural heritage.

Other major initiatives include digitizing the entire national heritage system, developing five to 10 national brands to lead the cultural industry and tourism, and building heritage urban chains in Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh and Hue.

Vietnam also plans to nominate five additional sites for UNESCO World Heritage status, establish up to three Vietnamese cultural centers in strategic partner countries, and support the translation and overseas publication of 200 literary and artistic works per year.

The state budget will allocate at least 2% of total annual spending to culture. A National Culture Index, known as the V-Culture Index, will be created to measure the contribution of cultural industries to economic growth.