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With the launch of Battlegrounds Mobile India’s Early Access, many professional esports personalities and content creators finally got a chance to try out Krafton’s latest title.
While the expectations from BGMI were sky-high, many who booted up the game on their devices felt that it was able to do justice to its predecessor while improving on many of its previous aspects.
In an interview with Sportskeeda Esports’ Abhishek Mallick, Ishaan Arya, co-founder of The Esports Club, provided some of his thoughts on Battlegrounds Mobile India and how well the game will transition into the mobile esports market as it stands today.
Here is an excerpt of the conversation.
Q. You were often vocal about the importance that PUBG Mobile held in the Indian mobile ecosystem. With Battlegrounds Mobile India finally making its beta debut, how well do you think Krafton’s title will be able to channel back into its previous role as a market leader?
Ishaan Arya: I think it’s safe to say there is an immense amount of excitement about the game’s relaunch. And all inhibitions aside, I think the community of players and content creators is more than ready to help propel it back to its glory days.
Whether it becomes as big as it was really depends on the kind of investments the publisher makes and the kind of competitive opportunities we see from both first-party (publisher-led) esports events as well as other reputable tier-1 TOs.
Q. PUBG Mobile has been the biggest contributor to investor revenue and community participation when it comes to the nation’s esports scene. Keeping its previous track record in mind, what are some of your expectations with Battlegrounds Mobile India and the changes that it will bring to the industry as it stands today?
Ishaan Arya: The biggest hurdle BGMI has to overcome is its place in the global ecosystem. While India will undoubtedly have its fair share of prize money, the reason brands and teams focused their PUBG Mobile rosters in this region was access to a massive untapped market of potential fans as well as the leading global event calendar.
If Battlegrounds Mobile India exists in a bubble, we may see fewer global brands looking to invest in Indian rosters. Additionally, it will be interesting to see how the upcoming global launch of PUBG New State will affect things.
Q. With the Early Access beta coming out a few days ago, what were some differences and similarities you noticed in Battlegrounds Mobile India compared to its predecessor, PUBG Mobile?
Ishaan Arya: While I’m nobody to judge the new game, it looks and feels like PUBG Mobile and even has my old account. So, I guess it’s suitable for everyone that invested heavily in their accounts and items.
Q. The PUBG Mobile ban has led many gamers to take up PC titles like Riot Games’ Valorant, which provided the impetus for tournament organizers to host various events on the shooter. With Battlegrounds Mobile India soon to get its official launch, will the focus again move away from PC titles for TOs?
Ishaan Arya: It will be interesting to see its impact on the PC esports ecosystem, which seemed to have directly benefitted from the absence of PUBG Mobile activity in the region.
A lot of TO’s made last-minute pivots to PC, and all of a sudden, we had more PC esports events last year than any year before.
I fully expect a lot of TO’s to realign their focus with the launch of Battlegrounds Mobile India. However, a lot also depends on Krafton’s stance on licensing and third-party events with large prize pools.
Q. What are some plans that The Esports Club has for Battlegrounds Mobile India? What can fans expect from the org once Krafton’s title comes out of its beta stage?
Ishaan Arya: At TEC, our approach has always been to identify opportunities in advance and make our investments in time. BGMI is going to be a hot space, there’s no doubt about that, but at this point, I can neither confirm nor deny any TEC events for Battlegrounds Mobile India.
