https://vietnamnet.vn/game-pubg-pc-dang-duoc-phat-hanh-khong-phep-tai-viet-nam-2557659.html
22/09/2026
In Vietnam, only PUBG Mobile is licensed for market release to serve gamers; PUBG PC is completely unlicensed.
In recent days, social media has been abuzz with controversy surrounding the PUBG Asia Stars tournament recently held in South Korea. The tournament brought together 48 streamers, professional players, and PUBG Partners from 16 regions including Vietnam, South Korea, China, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand.
[Image caption: PUBG PC is being released without permission in Vietnam. Screenshot]
The tournament, organized by Krafton, started on September 17th and had to end early due to a controversy involving two Vietnamese representatives, Himass and TanVuu.
According to South Korean media, the two Vietnamese players checked external information via personal livestreams during the competition. This was considered cheating, and they were disqualified from the remaining events of the tournament and had their PUBG Partner status revoked. However, the organizers are still reviewing the matter and have not yet concluded whether these two players directly watched their opponents' livestreams, as the South Korean team alleged, and have not issued any conclusion on this issue.
Krafton's handling of the controversial incident led to eight South Korean players withdrawing from the tournament. The organizers later acknowledged shortcomings in the organization process and addressed the incident; they also issued an apology, and the tournament ended without a final round. The $70,000 prize money was divided among the participating teams.
To date, the story continues to generate much controversy in the Vietnamese and global PUBG communities. However, some opinions suggest that the game publisher in Vietnam should consider the responsibility of the two players involved in the tournament, given that the event was reported in mainstream media in South Korea.
According to VietNamNet's investigation, the PUBG game used in the tournament in South Korea was the PC version published globally by Krafton. Currently, no company in Vietnam releases this version in the domestic market. Vietnamese gamers playing PUBG PC are playing the version released through Epic Games' streaming platform, PlayStation, Xbox, and directly promoted through international domain websites. Clearly, this is an unlicensed shooting game.
Meanwhile, the licensed version of PUBG in Vietnam is the Mobile version, published by VNGGames in the domestic market.
According to a representative of a domestic game publisher, most people have mistakenly believed that all games named PUBG are published by VNGGames in Vietnam. However, in reality, the PUBG Mobile version published by this company is Tencent; while the PUBG PC version is Krafton, which directly publishes the game globally, and those playing this version in Vietnam are playing an unlicensed game.
A representative from the publisher also added that Krafton had actually contacted domestic publishers to collaborate on releasing this game in Vietnam. However, the company only wanted domestic publishers to help obtain licenses; they would operate the game themselves and would not accept modifications to comply with Vietnamese laws.
Therefore, domestic publishers refused to cooperate because this is a shooting game, considered "sensitive"; especially due to its violent elements and inappropriate graphics, which could have serious consequences if not modified according to regulations.
Notably, despite releasing the game without a license in the Vietnamese market, Krafton has organized numerous PUBG PC tournaments domestically to attract gamers. Remarkably, this includes international tournaments. To circumvent the regulations, this company primarily organizes online events instead of offline ones like other licensed games.
While domestic game publishers have to go through many procedures and comply with regulations to obtain game publishing licenses in Vietnam, the fact that PUBG PC has been publicly released without permission in the domestic market for a long time is a great injustice to domestic businesses.
My personal opinion and experience:
Normally, when the government’s newspaper in Vietnam released the article like this, the game will be on review and be likely get banned soon (IP blacklisted or uninstall in Gamestore). Some of the game had been ban in Vietnam short-term like Genshin Impact (2020), Mobile Legend Bang Bang (2024) or ban until now like Supercell games Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars and HayDay. All the tournaments cannot be held both online and offline for the Vietnamese players in Vietnam.
Source: r/CompetitivePUBG · by /u/No-Obligation6338