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Have you guys noticed something quite
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interesting? While the martial arts game
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market in Vietnam has become
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increasingly gloomy, with titles once
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held in high regard having to bid
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farewell to gamers one by one, VNG has
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decided to do something that seems to go
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completely against market trends:
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developing its own martial arts MMORPG.
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And it's worth noting that this is not
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the first time VNG has placed a bet on
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this genre of martial arts games. So,
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can VNG succeed with this new title this
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time around? Let’s analyze it with The
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Let us take a brief look back at the
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martial arts games that passed through
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VNG's hands but had to say goodbye to
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Vietnamese gamers. First is Cuu Am 3D, a
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game that was introduced with beautiful
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graphics, a vast open world, and a
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relatively unique movement and combat
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system. However, after launching in
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Vietnam in September 2018, the game had
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to announce its server closure on May
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2020, meaning after only a year of
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Nhat Mong Giang Ho, the blockbuster
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open-world martial arts role-playing
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>> Next is Nhat Mong Giang Ho, a product
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developed by NetEase that featured a
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massive open world, impressive graphics
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, and received a lot of attention when
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it launched in Vietnam in October 2021.
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This was also one of the martial arts
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MMORPGs expected to create a different
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experience for Vietnamese players.
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However, on May 25, 2024, the game
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officially shut down after nearly 3
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And most recently, Thien Nhai Minh
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Nguyet Dao. This is perhaps the name
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that makes many gamers feel the most
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regret. A game with beautiful graphics,
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a vast world, an invested combat system
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, and often expected to become one of
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the top martial arts MMORPGs in Vietnam
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. But on August 20, 2026, VNG officially
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announced the cessation of the product's
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operation. According to the roadmap,
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servers will close on November 20, 2026
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, ending the game's two-year journey in
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It is worth noting that all three games
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mentioned above were published by VNG.
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This means that this very publisher once
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brought high-quality, branded wuxia
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titles to the market, only to eventually
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see them leave one by one.
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And this is truly something to reflect
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on. Is the Vietnamese wuxia game market
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truly entering a decline, especially
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when players have so many new options
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ranging from MOBA, survival, and Gacha
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to next-gen open-world MMORPGs? For a
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wuxia game to survive, it needs more
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than just beautiful graphics and fun
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gameplay; it must also have enough
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players to sustain guilds, battlefields
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, community activities, and the in-game
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Because no matter how vast an MMORPG
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might be, if you enter a city and see no
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one, or can't find opponents on the
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battlefield, it will sooner or later
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become a world without heroes.
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Yet, in that very context, VNG has
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decided to develop a new wuxia title.
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The game we are talking about is Kiem
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According to official announcements,
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this project was initially called
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Project X5 and has been nurtured by VNG
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for over 20 years. You heard that right
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, over 20 years. Of course, that doesn't
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mean VNG spent 20 years straight
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programming a single game. This was a
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period for the team to research,
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accumulate operational experience, test
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, and step-by-step build the capability
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to self-develop their own wuxia MMORPG.
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Looking back at history, we can see that
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VNG was one of the publishers that
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helped make the wuxia genre a part of
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Vietnamese gamers 'memories. From Vo Lam
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Truyen Ky and Vo Lam Truyen Ky 2 to Kiem
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The, these products once created a
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golden age for online gaming. Therefore
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, it can be said that VNG understands
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the wuxia-loving player base quite well
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, especially those who have been
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attached to this genre for many years.
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And perhaps this is also one of the
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reasons why VNG still wants to continue
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investing in this market. Because a
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saturated market does not mean there are
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no players left. The gamers who once
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played Jiu Yin 3D, Moonlight Blade, or
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Yi Meng Jiang Hu did not simply vanish
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after the servers closed down. They may
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still be looking for a new game to
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continue their journey through the
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martial arts world. The question is, can
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Kiem Hiep Tinh convince those who were
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disappointed by previous titles?
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Why would VNG choose to self-develop
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instead of continuing to purchase games
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This is the most notable point in the
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story. Typically, a publisher can select
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titles that have succeeded in the
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Chinese market, buy the localization
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rights, and bring them to the domestic
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market. This is not an unfamiliar
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practice in the Vietnamese gaming
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industry. However, with partner games,
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publishers often have to depend on
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foreign development teams for many
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issues like content updates, gameplay
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balancing, feature adjustments, and
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product direction. Meanwhile, by
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developing games themselves, VNG can be
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much more proactive. They can design
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gameplay tailored to Vietnamese gamers'
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tastes, adjust economic systems, develop
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sects, add guild activities, and build
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an update roadmap according to their own
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In particular, VNG is also implementing
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a co-development program, allowing
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gamers to experience the game,
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contribute opinions, and provide direct
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feedback to help the development team
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perfect the product. In other words, VNG
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does not just want to own a martial arts
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game, but also wants to own the
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foundation and capability to create such
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titles themselves. If successful, this
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will be a massive long-term advantage.
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But is Kiem Hiep Tinh arriving too late
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However, ambition is one thing, but
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whether the market will accept it is an
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entirely different story. Because gamers
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in 2026 are no longer like gamers in
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2005. In the past, just having a martial
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arts game with guild sieges, boss
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hunting, and PK was enough to captivate
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the community. But currently, players
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have so many options. They are
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accustomed to modern graphics, vast open
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worlds, diverse combat systems, and much
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more complex online experiences. Even
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titles with large budgets, famous brands
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, and invested gameplay are not
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guaranteed to maintain a long-term
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community in Vietnam. Therefore, Kiem
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Hiep Tinh will have to face at least
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three major challenges.
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The first is retaining players. An
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MMORPG needs enough content to keep
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players engaged for months, or even
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years, instead of just being busy for
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the first few days of launch.
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The second is balancing between
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free-to-play and paying players. If the
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power gap becomes too wide, new players
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will find it hard to stay motivated.
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And finally, building a community. For a
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martial arts game to last, it needs
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guilds, trading, competition, and
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activities that make players want to log
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in every day. These are all challenges
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that aren't necessarily solved just by
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having 20 years of experience.
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Currently, Kiem Hiep Tinh has entered
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its Closed Beta Test phase as of
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November 6, 2026. This is a notable
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milestone because after years of
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planning, VNG finally has an original
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martial arts MMORPG developed in-house.
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But I think the most interesting part
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isn't how many sects the game has, how
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good the graphics are, or how many
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features there are, but the question:
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Can VNG turn over 20 years of experience
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in martial arts games into a product
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capable of surviving in the 2026 market
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Because if a publisher that once defined
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the golden age of martial arts games
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cannot find a formula to retain players
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in this new era, then it is no longer
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just a failure of a single game. It also
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shows how much the martial arts MMORPG
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What do you guys think? Does the martial
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arts game genre still have a chance to
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return, or is its golden age truly over
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? Leave your comments below. Who knows,
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those who used to siege Sunboss and PK
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all night long might find a new world to
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continue their journey.
