The 33-year-old winger, nicknamed 'The Beast', set a club try-scoring record during his 14 seasons with the Warriors in the NRL but most recently played for Salford in the United Kingdom in 2017, before injuring his achilles tendon.
Vatuvei said on Instagram that he was now ready to accept the time was right to retire.
"I wasn't ready to or accept that my time is up and can honestly say it's been the tough and now I'm ready to accept and announce my retirement," Vatuvei wrote.
He also thanked everyone who supported him through his career.
