In September, amidst the escalating tensions between India and China over the Galwan valley incident in which Indian soldiers were killed, the Government of India launched a ‘digital surgical strike’ on Chinese apps in India. 118 apps were banned on the grounds of national security. Among those 118 apps, there was PUBG Mobile India. One of the most popular games in the world which enjoyed massive fan following among gamers and ordinary people in India was now gone in one straight blow. In a way, the year 2020 was nothing short of a disaster for PUBG Mobile especially in India. With the ban, the chances of the game coming back to India is still slim as the tensions between India and China continue to remain.
When the game was banned in India, there were plenty of rumours circulating on the web as to how the game can be downloaded from other sites. Fake websites proliferated and user as well as data security came at risk of being compromised. In the meanwhile, PUBG Mobile India did plenty of changes in the background. Tencent, which was the Chinese company and had a prominent stake in PUBG Mobile Corporation, was now removed as the distributor in India. PUBG Mobile India’s parent company Krafton, tied up with Microsoft Azure for data and user security.
Relaunch momentum is built
The elimination of Tencent from PUBG Mobile India meant that there was no Chinese entity in the game in India. With Tencent removed, it was now time for a relaunch. PUBG Mobile India announced in November that they would be coming back with a mega relaunch in December. At around the period of Diwali, there were plenty of teasers and announcements about the game and many people were waiting with bated breath.
At the same time, PUBG Mobile India was listed in the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. They hired some new people, including one Country Manager. They were just waiting for the Government of India to give a green signal for a meeting so that the game could be launched back in the country.
Massive disappointment
However, there was huge heartbreak in store for PUBG Mobile gamers in India. In an RTI query, MEITY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), the entity which had banned PUBG Mobile India, was still not convinced about the security of the game. They flatly refused to give permission to relaunch and all the momentum was lost. PUBG Mobile India’s launch date is now tentatively March 2021 and that too if the government changes it’s stance towards China. In between all this, PUBG Mobile India’s designated rival FAU-G (Fearless and United Guards) had their pre-registration done and it garnered over 1.06 million pre-registrations in less than 24 hours in November.
FAU-G is all set to be launched around the New Year period while PUBG Mobile India has been delayed until further notice. What began as a year in which they could capitalise has turned out to be a disaster for PUBG Mobile in India.
