A hypothesis shared widely in the Vietnamese community can be summarised like this:
KRAFTON already intended to leave the Vietnamese market. Vietnam has a large community but low revenue, and the drama was merely “the last straw”.
Three pieces of evidence are usually offered:
- KRAFTON issued a ruling as soon as Soopi complained.
- While the investigation was pending, KRAFTON ran maintenance and removed the Vietnamese language from the game without announcing it.
- PUBG operates in Vietnam without a licence.
This is a compound hypothesis. The rigorous approach is to split it into independent claims, test each one, and only then judge the whole.
This is a hypothesis article. As of 24 September 2026, KRAFTON has made no official statement about leaving Vietnam.
Claim 1 — “KRAFTON ruled as soon as Soopi complained”
Facts:
- Soopi raised the suspicion after Day 1 (17 September).
- On 19 September, before Day 2, KRAFTON removed Himass and TanVuu from the remaining matches. Their PUBG Vietnam Partner status was revoked (announced on 20 September).
- On 20 September, KRAFTON itself admitted it had “communicated insufficiently verified content too early” before Day 2.
However:
- The 19 September notice called the removal provisional, saying it “does not mean the matter is closed”.
- The permanent ban came only on 23 September, after the investigation widened.
Assessment: Partly true. The hasty initial response is real, and KRAFTON admits it. But it shows rushed crisis handling; on its own it does not show a plan to exit the market.
Claim 2 — “While the investigation was pending, KRAFTON ran maintenance and silently removed Vietnamese”
Facts:
- On 23 September, several outlets reported that PUBG’s Steam page lists Vietnamese as “Not supported”.
- However, Thể Thao 247 and Ghiền Bóng Đá both note that “versions archived by search engines months earlier also showed PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS without Vietnamese support.”
- Scamany found no source confirming that Vietnamese was removed during a maintenance window between 17 and 23 September, and no patch note saying so.
Assessment: Contradicted by the evidence as currently stated. If Vietnamese had been unsupported for months, it cannot be evidence of an action taken while the investigation was pending.
This claim would need one of two things to stand:
- a screenshot or archive (e.g. the Wayback Machine) showing Vietnamese was listed just before 17 September;
- or a patch note recording the removal.
Claim 3 — “PUBG operates in Vietnam without a licence”
Facts:
- Per Thanh Niên (23 September), “PUBG PC currently has no publishing licence in Vietnam”. Players access it via international platforms such as Steam and Epic.
- Also per Thanh Niên, PUBG Mobile, a different product, is licensed, and authorities are reportedly considering blocking PUBG PC.
- Meanwhile, KRAFTON ran Vietnam-facing activities: the PUBG Vietnam fan page, the PUBG Vietnam Partner programme and the PUBG Vietnam Series (PVS). In early 2026 it even made Vietnam a separate region in the PUBG Esports system.
Assessment: Supported by the press. This is the most important claim, but it points to a different explanation from the original hypothesis. See the comparison of explanations below.
Claim 4 — “Vietnam is saturated: a big community but low revenue”
Facts:
- Big community: per Kenh14, Vietnamese viewers made up 45.7% of PUBG content watch time at the Esports World Cup. Vietnam is also listed among KRAFTON’s directly operated markets.
- Revenue: KRAFTON reports only that 93% of revenue is from overseas (2024). There is no public figure for Vietnam specifically.
Assessment: Untestable for now. The community half has data. The low-revenue half is a plausible inference to some, but it has no data behind it. Without revenue figures, one cannot conclude the market “isn’t worth keeping”.
Claim 5 — “The decision to leave predates the drama”
This is the core of the hypothesis. To test it, ask: if an exit had been planned, what signs would we expect to see before 17 September?
| Prediction if planned in advance | What we actually see |
|---|---|
| Reduced investment in Vietnamese esports during 2026 | The opposite: in early 2026 Vietnam became a separate PUBG Esports region (per Thanh Niên) |
| A shrinking Vietnam Partner programme | The programme was active; both players were Partners until 20 September |
| Vietnam left out of major promotional events | Vietnam was one of six regions at Asia Stars, with the schedule and rules published in Vietnamese |
| Vietnamese channels shut down | The 23 September findings were still published in Vietnamese on pubg.com/vi |
| The PVS schedule removed before 17 September | Removal is recorded only around 23 September |
Assessment: Weak. The observable signs before 17 September point to KRAFTON expanding in Vietnam, not preparing to leave.
Three explanations for the 23 September moves
The 23 September moves are real: PVS disappeared, the fan page redirected updates to PUBG.COM and closed comments, and many community tournaments were cancelled. The question is why.
| Explanation | Content | Fits | Does not yet fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 — A pre-planned exit (the original hypothesis) | The drama was a pretext | The speed of the moves | Contradicts the 2026 expansion of Vietnamese esports |
| E2 — Crisis reaction | Pausing local activity amid boycotts and attacks | Timing matches the boycott (23 September) | Doesn’t explain removing PVS from the system entirely |
| E3 — Legal risk (licensing) | When authorities consider blocking an unlicensed product, the publisher scales back Vietnam-facing activity (fan page, tournaments, Partners) to reduce exposure | Timing matches the licensing reports (23 September); explains the PVS removal | No KRAFTON statement mentions licensing yet |
In Scamany’s analysis, E2 and E3 combined best fit the current evidence. The drama put Vietnam in the spotlight, for the community and for regulators alike, and a pre-existing licensing gap became a concrete risk.
In that sense, “the last straw” may be right. But the glass was probably regulatory risk, not “low revenue”, and the decision may have been made after the drama rather than before it.
What would settle it?
- An official KRAFTON statement on its Vietnam operations: PVS, the fan page, Partners, language.
- Documents from Vietnamese regulators about PUBG PC.
- Archives of the Steam page before 17 September, to establish whether Vietnamese was removed recently.
- Internal documents or business plans from before September showing an intent to exit. This is the only evidence that could confirm E1.
Conclusion
| Claim | Assessment |
|---|---|
| 1. Ruling as soon as Soopi complained | Partly true (hasty, but provisional) |
| 2. Vietnamese removed while the investigation was pending | Contradicted (unsupported for months) |
| 3. Operating without a licence | Supported by the press |
| 4. Low revenue, saturated market | Untestable for now |
| 5. Exit planned in advance | Weak (pre-17 September signs show expansion) |
The hypothesis that KRAFTON had already planned to leave Vietnam is not supported by the data. A narrower version is far better founded: KRAFTON is scaling back Vietnam-facing activities after the drama, against a background of licensing risk. That version can be tested once KRAFTON or the regulators speak.
Further reading: impact on the market · the shareholder hypothesis · the Impact page.