Thunder Cloud Studio: AAA Game-Art Outsourcing in Hanoi

Thunder Cloud Studio is a 3D game-art powerhouse based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Nearly 100 artists craft characters, environments, cinematics, and full-pipeline animation for global clients. Their precision has earned them the rare title of Global Elite Partner in Scopely’s trusted vendor programme.

Recent credits include Invincible, WWE Champions, Warhammer 40 000: Tacticus, and DreamWorks’ School of Dragons.

From Four Creatives to a Hundred

Founders Dzung Phung Dinh and Zoey Hoang launched the studio in 2013 with just four people. A decade later the team has doubled in size roughly every three years, ballooning to the current head-count without sacrificing quality.

“Be all in or get all out” is still the motto – based on a poster from their first office.

Thunder & Cloud: Culture in Two Words

Thunder = Discipline.

Dzung’s mantra is “Japanese mastery with German discipline.” Processes are documented, stand-ups are timed, and daily tasks must be closed before clock-out.

Cloud = Creativity.

Zoey’s background in luxury events brings colour to the workplace. Artists receive 20 % of work hours for R&D or internal pitches—fuel for fresh ideas.

The balance of rigour and freedom powers that coveted “wow” factor clients notice on delivery day. It is necessary to enjoy the cloud after the Thunder.

Growing Vietnam’s Artistic Talent

In the early days of 2014, Vietnam was lacking an accessible talent pool for 3D Modelling and Artists, especially those within Game related projects. Thunder Cloud identified this issue as one that they could be part of the solution for. “It would be mutually beneficial for their future as a studio”, Zoey told me, “If they could help grow Vietnam’s talent pool and identity as a nation for Game-Art and 3D Modelling”.

So, Thunder Cloud now:

• lecture at local universities,
• sponsor art contests, and
• run “Thunder War” bootcamps in-house.

Graduates enter a two-year training pipeline that rotates them through multiple art disciplines before they specialise. The result is a steady flow of production-ready juniors who understand AAA expectations.

“Be All In, or Get All Out”

Thunder Cloud’s promise that Graduates can work on exciting AAA projects does not come without a cost: they have to work.

Thunder Cloud have an honest hiring process of warning fresh faces of the struggle they will be committing to. That is the reality: the thunder. Daily tasks have to be done before clocking out. Late-comers are made to contribute money to a team-activity fund. So, the office is incredibly quiet and laser-focused during the day. This is not only a result of a disciplined approach, but a “necessity” for Thunder Cloud to deliver to the demands of their clients.

Remember: “Be all in or get all out”.

Thunder Cloud are still dealing with artists and creatives, so they recognise and see “Passion” as a fuel. This idea Dzung described, that in order to keep people from burning out, they need the ability to refuel their creative juices. So, Thunder Cloud gives about 20% of worktime back to Artists. This time can be to work on internal projects or pursue R&D efforts: allowing the continuation of upskilling. Also, this allows them to do something other than just client projects.

Rewarding Hard Work and Celebrating Success:

Prior to being CEO of Thunder Cloud Studios, Zoey worked in the luxury industries and events. She took inspiration from the high-end industries such as the massive no-costs-bared events and celebrations. Zoey thought – at least locally – this is what the Games industry was lacking. As a result, Thunder Cloud host two massive events a year for its employees.

During the summer Zoey would organize a huge company trip for all employees, with management level being invited to bring partners and family, so that they can feel that the Studio itself is a second family. Last year for example they celebrated their “Tour de Color” which was described as “sizzling, bursting with colours, and full of incredibly slay moments”. The trip involved five teams with different colours taking part in competitions and fun to let loose.

The Studio also hosts their end of year party to pause and reflect on their achievements in the year, and monthly parties with pizza and soft drinks (The office doesn’t have many alcohol drinkers).

Periods of Struggle.

The consistent growth of Thunder Cloud has not been without difficulty. For example, Zoey shared with me one particular period of time in 2022 during the NFT boom which was massive in Vietnam. Due to all of the money being invested in the space, competitors were able to swoop up many of Thunder Cloud’s artists with sometimes as much as triple their salary. The timing was not convenient as Zoey was pregnant and had to take some time away from running the business for maternity.

This meant that Thunder Cloud, sometimes with up to 13 projects running at once, needed their leader Dzung to take over his wife’s duties too: and they needed the Management to step up to the increasing pressures of delivery. Dzung described himself as a “Shogun” who must command the battlefield, overseeing dozens of battles simultaneously. Therefore, those around him had to be his “Samurai”, and the attitude of the business became war-like, as he could no longer work on projects until their most critical moments. He needed his employees to “Fight the battles for him”. It might seem strange to imagine an office full of young artists being instilled with this battle-like motivation, but I suppose the revolutionary spirit of Vietnam carried through as they got out the other side without falling behind.

Exciting times ahead.

Now, with an increasingly difficult terrain in the Western Games Industry – with massive development costs, market adjustments, and layoffs, Zoey explained that they are seeing more of an influx of clients approaching them to outsource work. With a busy period ahead, Thunder Cloud are always cautious with what work they take on but have also invested in Dzung’s own dream to develop PC and later cross-console Games.

Lucid Realms is the name of Thunder Clouds new game development studio where Dzung is currently spending time as the main developer, although they are looking at hiring Unreal Engine programmers into the team. They have access to an incredible Studio of artists to support development, but they will not let it take focus away from their projects and clients, although the possibility of working on this internal project in downtime is an exciting prospect for many.

So, after ten years of victories in the face of pressure, Thunder Cloud have persisted through the storm to finally be hitting a level of mastery in their stride: able to juggle client projects at the same time as developing their own titles. They have lifted up Vietnam’s industry with them, and hope to one day see the country as the face of AAA Art.

Learn more about Thunder Cloud Studio here: https://thundercloud-studio.com/

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