KRAFTON issued an apology on September 20 regarding its operation of "PUBG Asia Stars." Admitting that it hastily communicated unverified information and lacked adequate operational guidelines, the company decided not to proceed with the Day 3 schedule of the tournament.
In an official notice, KRAFTON stated, "We sincerely apologize once again to all participants and players for causing concerns over fairness and confusion by hastily conveying unverified information during the issues that arose in the tournament's operation and initial response." The company then categorized and presented confirmed facts, items currently under investigation, and measures taken so far.
Regarding the decision not to hold Day 3, KRAFTON explained, "Although we took possible measures such as replacing participants and adjusting scores, we determined that under current circumstances, it is difficult for all participants to normally proceed with the remaining schedule under equal trust and conditions."
As the remaining schedule will not be played, the final standings will not be finalized. Prize money will not be distributed differentially based on rankings, but will instead be distributed to all participating regions under identical criteria. The Drops event scheduled alongside Day 3 was also canceled. KRAFTON added that it will prepare and announce a separate event to replace the rewards in question.
KRAFTON wrote, "When the issue first arose, under circumstances where sufficient verification had not been conducted, we conveyed incorrect details even though the use of external information had not been properly confirmed." The company explained that despite lacking the time to check all videos and materials ahead of Day 2, it focused on quickly wrapping up the situation.
"As a result, we failed to fully consider the position of partners who suffered damage and inconvenience from the conduct, and as additional facts were confirmed later, it ended up damaging trust in PUBG's explanations," KRAFTON stated, adding, "It was clearly a misjudgment on our part."
KRAFTON gave a similar assessment of its subsequent handling. Under the rationale of prioritizing precise verification, it failed to share progress updates, and confusion grew as confirmed facts were not distinguished from items under investigation. KRAFTON remarked, "In the beginning, we judged too quickly, and afterwards, the necessary explanations were delayed."
As a fact confirmed thus far, KRAFTON explicitly stated "the fact that participants Himass and TanVuu of TEAM VIE checked out-of-game information during the Day 1 event via personal stream content."
Additional allegations were categorized as matters under investigation. These include whether they directly watched other participants' personal broadcasts, whether external information was actually utilized in gameplay, and whether there was additional transmission and reception of external information. KRAFTON stated that it has secured and is reviewing event footage, personal stream POVs, and team voice communications.
Regarding its stance on the investigation, KRAFTON stated, "While we will not assume unverified details as facts, we will neither downplay matters needing verification nor halt the investigation." Addressing criticism that it might be attempting to shield a specific region, the company stated, "We have never attempted to close this matter to protect a specific region or participant."
KRAFTON listed five measures it has taken to date.
Participants Himass and TanVuu were removed from the remaining schedule and replacement players were inserted, while scores for certain events where relevance was confirmed were adjusted. For subsequent events, a stream delay was implemented, operational guidelines were re-issued to participants, and monitoring was strengthened. In addition, the PUBG Vietnam Partner status of the two participants was revoked.
In the section revoking partner status, KRAFTON described the two participants as players who "committed violations." This choice of wording marks a shift from earlier announcements, which described the matter solely as "related to the use of external information" without stating whether a violation occurred.
The company also specifically acknowledged gaps in its operational standards. KRAFTON explained that PUBG Asia Stars was designed with UGC modes and real-time interaction between streamers as key entertainment elements, stating, "To maintain real-time interaction, we did not mandate a broadcast delay." This was followed by an explanation that it failed to assess the possibility of external information being introduced and the associated fairness risks as sufficiently high in an environment where participants from multiple countries stream individually.
KRAFTON also addressed the limitations of the rulebook. While it contained obligations to uphold fairness and sportsmanship, participant liability for disadvantages arising from personal broadcasts, and the organizers' authority for further investigation and judgment, the language was overly comprehensive. Citing three specific behaviors—checking external information via live chat during events, watching other participants' personal broadcasts, and receiving and utilizing out-of-game information—KRAFTON explained, "We failed to define potential actions more specifically and insufficiently granularized penalty criteria for each behavior."
For future similar events, KRAFTON stated that it will clearly define broadcast delays, prohibitions on using external information, monitoring methods, and penalty standards for violations in advance.
KRAFTON listed subjects for further verification: event videos and personal stream POVs of relevant participants, team voice recordings, whether external information was transmitted and received, whether it was utilized in actual play, whether other participants' personal broadcasts were watched, additional matters raised regarding other participants, and whether participants violated fairness and sportsmanship obligations. If additional violations are confirmed, KRAFTON stated it will review the conduct and applicable rules to take follow-up action, and will issue a separate announcement once results are finalized.
The company also noted that it is aware of defamation and secondary harm targeting participants, streamers, and officials. KRAFTON stated, "PUBG will responsibly handle fact-checking and operational measures regarding the event," asking the community to refrain from slander and attacks directed at participants or specific regions.
The apology extended to streamers who prepared for the tournament. KRAFTON stated, "Despite having no direct connection to this matter, some streamers suffered unexpected criticism and inconvenience, and were unable to proceed normally with the schedule they had prepared," adding, "We were lacking in many areas, from advance operational standards and risk management to initial judgment and subsequent communication."
KRAFTON concluded, "We will act responsibly regarding confirmed wrongdoing and judge unverified matters based on facts after thorough investigation," promising to announce investigation results and measures to prevent recurrence as soon as the inquiry is complete.
