Smilegate has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with VTC Online (VTCO), a subsidiary of Vietnam’s state-owned media group, to advance the rollout of its game platform ‘STOVE’ in the Vietnamese market.
The two companies plan to establish Vietnam’s only open game platform that complies with local laws and content review procedures.
The signing ceremony was attended by Baek Young-hoon, Head of Megaport at Smilegate Holdings, Le Viet Hoa, CEO of VTCO, and Le Quang Tu Do, Director General at Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
 

Under the agreement, Smilegate and VTCO will pursue several initiatives, including:

• STOVE’s entry into the Vietnamese market

• Provision of Vietnam’s only official and legally compliant game distribution structure

• Securing channels to onboard domestic and global content partners seeking expansion into Vietnam

• Identifying and supporting promising local developers

VTCO is a major Vietnamese game publisher under state-owned media group VTC. In addition to game publishing, the company operates payment services, an esports business and a national media network infrastructure. It has also accumulated strong performance and operational expertise through its long-running service of Smilegate’s ‘Crossfire’ in Vietnam (CFVN).
The two companies aim to jointly establish a fully compliant open game distribution ecosystem tailored to Vietnam’s regulatory environment and plan to launch the beta version of ‘STOVE Vietnam’ in the second quarter of 2026.