Camille Thomas, General Manager at Sparx* – a Virtuos Studio based in Ho Chi Minh City, discusses the company’s initiatives towards global integration and fostering an inclusive workplace.
Hi Camille, coming from a background in the finance sector, what motivated you to make a switch to the games industry and come to Vietnam?
My passion for games started when I was studying and working in France, and in 2015, I started my career in the games industry as the CFO of Gameloft’s Beijing office, before being promoted to take the same role for the Southeast Asia region. After seeing the huge potential of the vibrant economy here, my husband and I decided to move our family from China to Vietnam.
Game development requires not only imagination and enthusiasm, but also focuses on technical aspects such as utilizing programming tools, ensuring quality, enhancing performance, and managing the production process. For me, it’s a great opportunity as I can leverage my corporate finance and cost control background, combined with the company’s overall strategy, to maintain a balance between a creative culture and business efficiency.
After 5 years of working in Vietnam, how do you picture the current landscape of the domestic game production sector?
Vietnam is home to more than 200 game studios, most of which are small to medium-sized and focused on developing hyper-casual games for mobile. This reflects both current market demand and the strengths of the local forces. However, Vietnam has been recognized as a regional hub with high-quality game talent supply and increasingly, more major global game companies are establishing their studios in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang. Training and development in games has also received more attention with the launch of numerous specialized training programs in game art, game design, and game programming, all of which help address the challenge of maintaining a sustainable supply of skilled professionals for the industry.
In 2023, we also witnessed the collective efforts of the Vietnamese game ecosystem in connecting with each other to share experiences and resources. Virtuos is excited about the opportunity to work with local studios to create high-quality games in Vietnam soon.
With 3 game studios and more than 1,000 employees in the country, where does Virtuos currently stand on the map of Vietnamese games industry?
After over 10 years of operating in Vietnam, we are proud to be the leading service provider of game development and game art in the country. At the same time, we continuously strive to bring the games industry closer to everyone, as well as to become a desirable workplace.
Our member studios Glass Egg and Sparx* are well-established launchpads for Vietnamese artists, animators, and technicians to successfully land on global entertainment projects. Such experiences in large-scale AAA game projects provide the opportunities for our Vietnamese team members to exchange knowledge with experienced teams in the global games industry and stay ahead of the global standards for game development.
How exactly can Vietnamese teams integrate with the global industry through international AAA projects?
Working on game franchises that is beloved by millions of players requires our team to establish comprehensive operational frameworks, and continually enhance their processes and expertise to meet the highest standards set by our partners—covering everything from artistic quality to technical bars, security and the working environment.
Additionally, Glass Egg and Sparx* also serve as centers for transferring AAA game knowledge and technology from Virtuos’ network of over 20 studios and labs worldwide to Vietnam. Our employees also benefit from the internal mobility programs and have the opportunity to relocate and develop in mature game markets such as North America or Europe.
You mentioned Virtuos’ efforts to bring the games industry closer to everyone. Could you elaborate?
Through various programs and initiatives with our industry and training partners, we want to prove that the game production sector can provide a healthy, equitable, and progressive work environment for everyone. Virtuos pays particular attention to gender equality as women remain underrepresented at only 22% of the industry in 2020, a comparatively small number given that around 50% of gamers are women.
In Vietnam alone, we have implemented various initiatives to build a diverse and equal work environment. We boldly aim to have 40% female members in our workplace, and 40% of senior management roles to held by women by 2025. A recent example of our efforts is the ‘Girls Got Game’ scholarship program for female students that we launched in Ho Chi Minh City. We hope to encourage girls who love games to explore and pursue a career that also supports their personal interests and passions, which aligns perfectly with our mission to make games better, together.