Back in May 2024, the Vietnamese government blocked access to Steam, claiming that all games distributed locally must secure a license. Yet, quite a few Vietnamese players have continued enjoying Steam games by resorting to VPNs and DNS tweaks, though a chorus of complaints has risen since late September that Steam has become entirely unreachable locally.

Local outlets such as Vietnamnet Global and GameK have corroborated the situation. Vietnamnet Global reported on September 25 that some local internet service providers (ISPs) blocked Steam access, causing partial service restrictions that prevented users from downloading PUBG on the platform.

Subsequently on October 2, GameK noted that complaints regarding Steam connection errors were surging across local gamer communities. Countless users are raising issues about failing to log into accounts, being unable to open the Steam store page, and having update downloads grinding to a halt.

Over on overseas communities overflowing with gamers like Reddit, reports have poured in stating that even after deploying previously reliable VPNs or free DNS services like Google and Cloudflare, entering Steam remains impossible. On the flip side, some opinions suggest that access isn't cut off nationwide, but rather restricted only in specific regions or Wi-Fi environments. Neither Steam nor the Vietnamese government has released an official stance on this recent hiccup.

Ever since May 2024, the Vietnamese government has been throttling local Steam usage—particularly focusing on the store and payment functions—under the justification that Steam failed to comply with relevant regulations such as licensing. Much like China, Vietnam requires licenses for game distribution, leaving Steam in a rather legally ambiguous grey area.

While not Steam itself, the Vietnamese government busted a multitude of games distributed without licenses across the Apple App Store and Google Play Store back in May. On August 27, Samsung Electronics announced it would phase out its Galaxy Store service in Vietnam, citing tightened mobile game licensing regulations and shifting service policies by the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications.

Backed by a youthful demographic and steady economic growth, Vietnam has rapidly emerged as an exciting, rising gaming market that even South Korea keeps a close eye on. Naturally, everyone is watching closely to see how the local government's clampdown on foreign games will ripple through the market.