Krafton apologised again over fairness controversy and disruption at PUBG Asia Stars 2026. It previously described the actions of 2 Vietnamese participants as “checking information outside the game through personal broadcast content,” but this time specified them as stream sniping. It also acknowledged that Krafton bears significant responsibility for failures in tournament operations and its subsequent response.

On Sept. 22, Krafton said Yoon Soo-jin (윤수진), head of PUBG publishing, posted an apology the previous day on the official Battlegrounds Cafe, saying the responsibility for causing and escalating the incident lies with Krafton.

The apology also made a clearer judgement on the actions of Himass and TanVuu of Vietnam’s TEAM VIE.

Yoon said the players’ actions in checking information outside the game, described as “stream sniping,” were all confirmed. Krafton is proceeding with disciplinary procedures against the 2 participants and will provide the results separately.

The stance was more specific than an additional notice on Sept. 20. At the time, Krafton said it had confirmed Himass and TanVuu checked information outside the game through personal broadcast content during the Day 1 event, but it was still investigating whether they directly watched other participants’ personal broadcasts, whether the external information was used in actual play, and whether there was additional transmission and receipt of information.

Krafton also pointed to problems in tournament operating standards and its subsequent response process as reasons the incident escalated.

It acknowledged it failed to clearly establish in advance preventive measures to block use of outside information, criteria for judgement and the level of sanctions. It also said it failed to accurately explain the facts and respond from the outset after the issue occurred.

It also cited wording used in handling a boycott by Korean participants and streamers. Krafton acknowledged that when they signalled a boycott while raising fairness concerns, it brushed it off by describing it as “withdrawing participation.”

It also cited accepting the limited term “chat play” as a problem. Krafton said it accepted the limited expression “chat play” and failed to sufficiently explain the essence of the actual actions.

It also acknowledged it failed to manage consistently the content and level of expression in notices posted in Korean and Vietnamese. It added it failed to properly protect participants and their teams, and failed to prevent the controversy from spreading into additional harm to individuals.

Yoon said this was Krafton’s failure in operations and communication and said it would not make excuses.

Earlier, at PUBG Asia Stars 2026, the issue of 2 Vietnamese participants checking outside information emerged on the first day of the tournament. Krafton then excluded the 2 participants from the remaining schedule and put in replacements, and adjusted the scores of some events where relevance was confirmed. For subsequent matches, it applied a broadcast delay and took measures including re-notifying participants of operating standards and strengthening monitoring.

But amid backlash over Krafton’s initial response, 8 Korean team participants did not take part in the Day 2 match, and sponsors also successively put related promotions and sponsorships on hold.

Krafton ultimately decided not to hold Day 3. With the remaining schedule cancelled, it also did not finalise the final rankings, and decided to pay prize money that was originally to be distributed by rank under the same criteria across all participating regions. The drops event scheduled for Day 3 was also cancelled.

Krafton also said if participants pursue legal action, it will share materials and investigation findings secured in the process of establishing the facts and cooperate with necessary procedures. It also plans to provide support for recovery.

Yoon said Krafton failed to fulfil its role of accurately judging the facts, explaining them consistently and protecting participants. Yoon said responsibility lies with Krafton for allowing blame and burden to focus on individual participants, and that Krafton will bear criticism and responsibility for the incident.