Hai Phong has its first outdoor eSports festival
According to the organizers, Hai Phong became the first destination of the Games ON model, in the context of the city promoting the night economy and building the brand "Festival City, Music City".
From the end of August, the City People's Committee implemented the "Night Food Walking Street" program in the Central Flower Garden Strip area and the City Theater on weekend nights. Particularly on October 10-11, in this central area, Games ON brings many types of digital entertainment, helping people and tourists access gaming and eSports activities outside the online environment.
One of the main activities of "Games ON: Hai Phong 2026" is the final round of three national eSports tournaments, part of the Fall Esports Festival. The program is organized by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hai Phong city, Vietnam Entertainment Electronic Sports Association (VIRESA) in coordination with VNGGames.
The three tournaments include the Final of the 2026 National Championship in Truth Arena, Women's Singles; Finals of the Student Esports Championship of Truth Arena and Finals of the 2026 National Championship of League of Legends (VCS 2026 - Final Stage).
32 athletes from many localities will compete on an outdoor stage in the city center, allowing visitors to watch national-level matches directly in public spaces, instead of having to go to the gym or online platforms.
Mr. Le Trung Kien, Vice Chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee, said that the locality is not only a major industrial, seaport, logistics and service center of the North, but also has all the natural conditions, infrastructure and experience to become an ideal destination for large-scale sports and tourism events. Organizing an outdoor e-sports event for the first time is an opportunity for Hai Phong to contribute to the development of the national e-sports competition system in a professional and synchronous direction; At the same time, promote the e-sports movement.
"In the context of strong digital transformation, the city has determined to focus on investing heavily in sports infrastructure, accommodation services, transportation, tourism and communications, so that Hai Phong is ready to host large-scale sports events of national and international stature," he added.
Mr. La Xuan Thang, Senior Managing Director of Vietnamese online game publisher VNGGames, shared that during the survey of potential locations for Games ON, the unit found that Hai Phong is a city with a rich history, unique cultural identity and strong community spirit. Bringing the event to an open urban space like Hai Phong helps games and Esports reach a wider public, from the gaming community to residents and tourists.
"We expect Games ON will contribute a new cultural and entertainment experience to the city, diversifying tourism activities and the local night economy," he emphasized.
Besides tournaments, VNGGames built Games ON: Hai Phong 2026 into a space to experience 20 game lines of the publisher in Vietnam. The gaming community, residents and tourists can interact, compete in the community and interact with content creators through the games League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, League of Legends: Wild Rift, VALORANT, PUBG Mobile, Crossfire: Legends, Play Together, Total Football VNG, ZingSpeed Mobile, Gunny and Thien Long Bat Bo VNG...
The event also has 11 food booths of 8 local brands, connecting entertainment activities with commercial services in the downtown area. On the evening of October 10, the opening program titled "Games ON Imprint: Hai Phong 2026" combines music, visual mapping, cosplay and fireworks. The program has the participation of artists Van Mai Huong, Ha Le, Bao Tram and the cosplayer community transforming into characters in games released by VNGGames.
The representative of the organizing committee added that Games ON is a model that combines digital entertainment with open urban space, linking game and eSports activities with tourism, culinary and local service experiences. This approach brings online entertainment products closer to the public through live events. The model also contributes to implementing the strategy to develop Vietnam's cultural industries to 2030, with a vision to 2045, according to Decision No. 2486 of the Prime Minister, identifying software and entertainment games and cultural tourism as two of the 10 key cultural industries. At the same time, Resolution No. 80 of the Politburo on Vietnamese cultural development also identifies video games as a field of cultural industry that needs to be developed with focus and focus.
Before organizing Games ON, VNGGames was a strategic companion of Vietnam Game Festival (GameVerse), organized by the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism from 2023. The unit also received the Outstanding Game Publisher award at the Vietnam Game Awards for four consecutive years.
From 2025, VNGGames coordinates with VIRESA to deploy the National Championship system in many disciplines, thereby discovering and training potential athletes for Vietnamese Esports in regional and international arenas.
At ASIAD 20, Vietnam's national e-sports team won a medal for the first time in the Esports content at an Asian Games, with two bronze medals in NARAKA: Bladepoint and League of Legends. The team also ranked fourth in the continent in the PUBG Mobile Asian Games version. These contents are all games published by VNGGames in Vietnam, with the company and team's companionship from the early days.
VNGGames is a game publisher and developer based in Vietnam, operating in many Southeast Asian and international markets. The unit currently has 8 game studios in Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Taipei, with more than 1,000 employees of more than 20 nationalities.
Nhat Le