A Controversial Call in Esports May Spell Huge Trouble for Krafton and PUBG in Vietnam

Over the past two weeks, South Korean publisher KRAFTON has found itself entangled in an escalating crisis in Vietnam. The crisis started with a disputed competitive ruling and rapidly snowballed into an existential threat to its presence in Vietnam.

While the popularity of PUBG Battlegrounds (PC) has cooled in Western markets, Vietnam remains one of its most critical, profitable, and competitive regions globally. Recent events have severely disrupted this ecosystem, with tournament cancellations, player bans, community boycotts, and regulatory scrutiny creating significant operational challenges for the publisher.

Why Vietnam Matters to KRAFTON

To understand the magnitude of the current crisis, one must understand Vietnam's outsized role in the global PUBG Battlegrounds (PC) hierarchy:

• Esports Powerhouse: Vietnamese rosters have consistently been top-tier contenders in the APAC region and at global events such as the PUBG Global Championship (PGC) and PUBG Nations Cup (PNC). On July 27, 2025, Team Vietnam crowned champions of PUBG Nations Cup 2025.

• Deep Cultural Footprint: In Vietnam, PC gaming culture revolves heavily around internet cafés (tiệm net), where PUBG Battlegrounds (PC) has maintained an unusually loyal, hardcore demographic despite broader market shifts toward mobile gaming.
• A Pillar for Global Player Count: While Western engagement has normalized, Southeast Asia—anchored by Vietnam and Thailand—supplies a substantial share of daily active users and in-game microtransaction revenue on PC, per Niko Partners Report.

Losing Vietnam does not simply mean losing a regional qualifier; It means severing one of the few passionate, self-sustaining competitive scenes keeping the global PC circuit relevant.

The Spark: A Showmatch Controversy and Severe Sanctions

On September 20, 2026, the crisis began during the PUBG Asia Stars 2026 showmatch, an exhibition event featuring a mix of professional players and influencers from South Korea and Vietnam. During the contest, two high-profile Vietnamese professionals—Trần Tấn Vũ (TanVuu) of GAM x The Expendables and Lã Phương Tiến Đạt (Himass) of Anyone’s Legend—were accused of stream sniping.

The accusations caused immediate chaos. As reported by The Elec, all eight South Korean players refused to participate in the second round, sponsors pulled out, and the showmatch was abruptly scrapped. Following an internal review, on September 23, KRAFTON handed both players a permanent, worldwide lifetime ban from all official KRAFTON-sanctioned esports tournaments, including premier circuits like PGC, PGS, and PNC.

The severity of the punishment sent shockwaves through the Vietnamese gaming landscape. While both players admitted to glancing at their personal live stream chat rooms, they vehemently denied monitoring opponent streams. Himass’s subsequent Facebook post—"Chính thức thất nghiệp" ("Officially unemployed")—rallied tens of thousands of supportive reactions within hours, crystallizing local resentment against what was viewed as an excessive, heavy-handed verdict.

The Backlash: Boycotts, Backpedalling, and Financial Fallout

The Vietnamese community’s reaction quickly shifted from shock into an organized revolt:

• Allegations of Double Standards: Netizens resurfaced historical cases involving Korean pros, such as player Gyumin, who faced stream-sniping allegations in domestic league play without receiving lifetime bans. The community argued that KRAFTON was applying disproportionate penalties to Southeast Asian talent to appease Korean viewers.
• Rushed Due Diligence: KRAFTON had already compromised its credibility days prior when it issued a public apology to Korean player Soopi on September 20, conceding that it had rushed out unverified findings.
• The "Game Deletion Wave" (Làn Sóng Xoá Game): Top Vietnamese gaming figures, most notably mega-streamer Độ Mixi, publicly uninstalled the title. Hundreds of thousands of fans followed suit.
• Commercial Backlash: Vietnamese media outlet "VietNamNet" reports that internet cafés and regional esports clubs have formally announced a boycott of PUBG PC. Over a seven-day stretch, PUBG was hit with more than 34,000 negative reviews on Steam.

The Causal Chain: How a Ban Triggered a Legal Threat

To understand this situation, it helps to see how a simple tournament dispute turned into a crisis. The tournament ruling itself did not create problems; the massive community anger is what brought the media's attention.

Following the boycott, prominent national outlets—including VietNamNet, Thanh Niên, 24h, Gamek, and MMOSITE—began digging into the game's corporate backing in Vietnam. Their findings brought a long-standing, open secret to light: PUBG PC has operated in Vietnam for years without an official domestic publishing license.

While PUBG Mobile is fully legalized, compliant, and distributed domestically through VNGGames (via Tencent), PUBG PC was never approved for public domestic release. Instead, local players accessed the game overseas through platforms like Valve's Steam—a storefront that Vietnamese internet service providers already throttle periodically due to tax and licensing non-compliance.

Once Vietnamese media highlighted that an unlicensed title was generating massive commercial revenue and causing public disorder, regulatory authorities were forced to examine whether the game should face a comprehensive, nationwide blockade.

The Pullback, Not Government Banning

Shortly after media reports questioned the game's legality, local PUBG Battlegrounds channels quietly went dark:

• Access to the official Vietnamese Discord server was disconnected.
• The official Facebook Page of PUBG Vietnam disappeared.
• Official YouTube Channel and Other Social Handles Disappeared.
• The upcoming PUBG Vietnam Series (PVS) 2026 Phase 2 schedule was scrubbed without explanation from the official PUBG Esports website.

It is critical to clarify that these shutdowns were executed by KRAFTON, not by the Vietnamese government. To date, KRAFTON has offered no public statement or explanation regarding the abrupt removal of these hubs.

The Legal Reality: Decree 147 and Vietnam's Tightening Net

Operating in Vietnam without domestic licensing has become virtually impossible under the country's updated internet governance:

• Decree 147/2024/ND-CP (strengthening Decree 72/2013): Vietnamese law strictly regulates cross-border online entertainment services.
• The G1 License Barrier: Any multiplayer title that operates via centralized network servers falls under the G1 category. Legal operation requires either an onshore legal entity or a direct partnership with a licensed domestic publisher.
• Content and Financial Approvals: A G1 license requires explicit content vetting from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC)—an uphill battle for realistic military shooters with blood rendering. It also mandates local tax registration, domestic server data localization, and verified domestic payment integration.

Vietnam has a proven track record of enforcing these rules. In 2019, Finnish mobile giant Supercell pulled hits like Clash of Clans from local app stores before returning via compliant domestic partners.As per Vietnamnet's report, for PUBG Battlegrounds (PC), past negotiations between KRAFTON and local Vietnamese publishers reportedly stalled over disagreements regarding operational control and game content. The game relied on the grey-market status quo until the Asia Stars controversy shone an unsparing spotlight on the arrangement.

What started as a standard rule enforcement during a regional match has grown into a serious operational risk. The intense community backlash exposed KRAFTON’s lack of a formal operating license in Vietnam. Ultimately, this serves as a clear warning for the industry—relying on cross-border distribution without local legal compliance is a fragile strategy in Vietnam, especially when public sentiment turns negative.