The developer of the game, PUBG Corporation, said that they will take on the publishing responsibilities of the game in India. Tencent was the publishing company previously. However, PUBG Corporation has taken on these responsibilities now in an attempt to re-introduce the game in the country.
The developer went on to say that, “In light of recent developments, PUBG Corporation has made the decision to no longer authorize the PUBG Mobile franchise to Tencent Games in India”. However, Tencent has confirmed that its partnership with the company will not be broken in other markets. It is solely for India that PUBG Corporation has taken this step.
India was the biggest market for the popular mobile game before the ban. In fact, a quarter of the game’s global downloads came from India.
Also read: PUBG Mobile 1.0 Update Released: Steps To Download In India
Last week, India’s IT Ministry stated that its decision to ban these apps was based on “credible information”. This information reportedly revealed that the applications were acting against the interests of the country. Simply put, the India-China feud is exactly what led to the Central Government to take this decision.
The Government also stated that there were multiple reports from various sources that about the misuse of some applications on the Android and iOS platforms in India. Moreover, these apps were reported to transmit user’s data in an unauthorized manner.
Recently, Activision cut ties with Tencent as well globally to protect Call Of Duty Mobile from a possible ban in India. Therefore, this step by PUBG Corporation does not really come as a surprise.
What More?
In the press release, PUBG has revealed it is not a Chinese company. Additionally, the company stated that it only franchised PUBG Mobile to Tencent as a publishing company. However, that partnership does not exist anymore and the game might actually make a comeback. Although the Indian Government has not revoked the ban for any of the banned apps. This does pose a threat to the re-introduction of the mobile game in the country.
Also read: Everything New In Call Of Duty Mobile Season 10
This is indeed a bad moment for the mobile gaming community in India. However, players are now shifting to Call Of Duty Mobile and the game is doing wonders for them. In fact, the game has seen the most free skins since its launch post PUBG ban. Season 9 of the game was the biggest update in the history of the game. Season 10 is going great as well and with more and more visual overhauls, the game is excellently catering to the needs of the budding players.
Also read: How To Play PUBG Mobile In India Even After The Ban
The PUBG ban in India has also paved the way for multiple Indian made companies to cash in on this opportunity. The best example here would be the upcoming game FAU-G. FAU-G is going to be a similarly styled battle royale game as well and is planning to take over the PUBG players in India. However, the real question is will it be able to make players move on from the most successful mobile battle royale game in the world? Nothing can be predicted right now and only time will tell.
Narender Kumar
Always on the quest to learn and share the knowledge. Big fan of books (but not the self help ones) specially fiction. A grammar Nazi who loves to eat, cook, travel and watching thunderstorms.