“Battlegrounds Mobile India is definitely going to have a significant impact on the nation’s mobile esports market”: Praveen “GodParveenYT” Chaudhary

The Battlegrounds Mobile India launch came with a lot of promise and anticipation, and as far as the community is concerned, Krafton’s latest title has been able to live up to each of its expectations.

Praveen “GodParveenYT” Chaudhary has been one of the many content creators whose YouTube career was hit hard by the PUBG Mobile ban. And though he did take up vlogging as a supplement, the release of Battlegrounds Mobile India has put more than just a smile on his face.

In a conversation with Abhishek Mallick of Sportskeeda Esports, Praveen opened up about his life before content creation became his calling. How PUBG Mobile, and a serious accident, threw him from a life in the corporate sector to one of notoriety as one of the best video game YouTubers in the nation, is truly a story worth listening to.

Here is an excerpt of the conversation.

Q. Parveen, I don’t think many of your fans know a lot about your origin story, and how you got started with content creation. So can you tell us a bit about your early days and what inspired you to seek a career in video games?

Praveen: From my very childhood I was interested in video games, but I started pursuing a career in the corporate sector like most others of my background. And I would have continued with the same if I had not come across PUBG Mobile.

Before PUBG Mobile, video games were not very accessible to me, especially the ones with better graphics and smoother gameplay mechanics. PUBG Mobile's very accessibility is what I love the most, and I did not have to depend on expensive consoles and computers to fulfill my gaming needs.

I had a hobby where I used to consume a lot of PUBG Mobile content. So I used to watch other YouTubers play the game, but I never thought that I would myself be seeking a career in video game content creation.

My random in-game teammates used to praise my game strategy a lot, and they would always want to play in my team, and from there I started building a small community around me. I had watched Dynamo a lot and it was he who inspired me to open my YouTube channel.

After some time I joined Rooter, which helped me to take my gaming career to the next level.

Q. Is there anything else that you are pursuing at the moment apart from investing a great deal of your time and effort in coming up with unique content for your audiences?

Praveen: Yes! I am definitely planning a lot of stuff around other aspects of YouTube. I recently started my V-Log Channel named GoDPraveenYT Vlogs, and got in touch with GoD Army as a result.

I have a lot of surprises for my audiences, which I will reveal when I hit 1 million, so currently, I will not be discussing any of those. So you will have to wait and watch.

Q. What’s the atmosphere like back at home? What do your parents think of your career choice as a video game content creator?

Praveen: Like any other Indian family, mine too had a lot of objections every time I used to start playing PUBG Mobile. They would think that I am wasting time by playing games, and I was better off spending my energy in building a corporate life for myself.

While I was still working in the corporate sector, I met with an accident, which left me severely injured. As the doctor advised 3-months of bed rest, I had no other job at the time than to grind in PUBG Mobile.

The game helped me overcome my situation and all of the built-up stress. It was also at this time that I started my YouTube channel in secret without informing my parents.

But once I received my first payment from the channel, I informed my family about it and my interest in being a YouTuber. This was the time when they started supporting my passions, and what I wanted to do in life, so there was no turning back.

Now that I am working for a company like Rooter, I think that my decision of entering into the gaming world and leaving my corporate job makes sense.

Q. PUBG Mobile had been instrumental in helping your channel grow significantly over the last couple of years. What kind of an impact did it have on your viewership after the ban? How did you have to adjust the content in your channel afterward?

Praveen: The PUBG Mobile ban in the nation was heartbreaking for me. As we were just starting to get noticed on YouTube, and preparing for the various esports tournaments, the ban wanted all of our year-long efforts in the blink of an eye.

But as the well-being of the nation is and always will be our top priority, we backed the Indian government on their decision to ban the game, and in the meantime, we had to divert our attention to other mobile and PC titles.

However, branching out did not give me much success, and the audience response was not great. But that did not stop me, and I soon created my own vlog channel, which helped me receive a warm welcome from the GoD Army on YouTube.

Q. With Battlegrounds Mobile India finally out for Android devices, what were some of your expectations for Krafton’s latest title, and how much of it would you say were met?

Praveen: Battlegrounds Mobile India has come with a lot of changes and customizations which make it India’s very own exclusive title. I liked it and as far as gameplay, it is the same as PUBG so no complaints

Q. What are some of the major differences and similarities that you have spotted between BGMI and what PUBG Mobile used to be before the ban?

Praveen: One of the major differences which I find and love in Battlegrounds Mobile India when compared to PUBG Mobile, is in the title itself. The word “India” is in the very name of the game, and that alone makes me feel very proud to be a citizen of this nation.

Apart from that, there are few graphic changes and custom warnings, I do not feel any major difference beyond that.

Q. What kind of a shift do you feel Battlegrounds Mobile India will be able to introduce in the mobile esports scene, in terms of both market growth and community participation?

Praveen: Battlegrounds Mobile India is definitely going to have a significant impact on the nation’s mobile esports market. The scene is already quite big and growing by the day, and with the arrival of Krafton’s title, it will receive an even bigger boost.

Community participation towards the game will be at an all-time high as well, as the PUBG Mobile faithful will definitely be grinding the game, and as you can see, the title has already surpassed 10 million downloads.

Q. When it comes to streaming and content creation platforms, you have had your fair share of experiences with a lot of them. How different were your experiences in each of them?

Praveen: I had initially started streaming on YouTube but then turned to Facebook and finally Rooter, which as a platform has been one of the most unique experiences for me so far.

Rooter, in my eyes, is an Indian streaming platform that is tailor-made for the nation’s content creators themselves. I see a lot of regional video game content creators connecting with Rooter, and as a result, the platform is growing bigger by the day.

I have seen Rooter promoting streams in every language in India, which I feel is an incredible opportunity for regional content creators.

Q. What’s next for GodParveenYT? What can fans of the channel expect in the coming months?

Praveen: The next few months are going to be huge for GoDPraveenYT, however, I will not be revealing any of my plans just yet, and I will be keeping it as a surprise to my audience.

But for the time being, the channel will be doing a lot of custom lobbies and unique giveaways, along with live interactive sessions on Rooter. It’s definitely going to be a lot of fun.