PUBG ban leaves India's thriving mobile esports industry in uncertainty

PUBG Mobile is arguably the most popular battle royale game that hit the Indian market in 2018. The publication of PUBG Mobile can be traced back to Bluehole Studio, a South Korean gaming company. The Korean company partnered up with the Chinese conglomerate 'Tencent' for the game's mobile version.

As a consequence of the rising tensions between India and China, The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a ban on PUBG Mobile, along with 118 Chinese apps on 2nd September, under Section 69A. The unprecedented move resulted in a lot of disappointment among creators and game streamers.

The eSports scene In India had just started booming, with several PUBG Mobile tournaments being held across the country. Many of the top eSports professionals and content creators expressed their disappointment on their social media accounts. Many of them claimed that the ban would have a significant impact on their life.

We talked to some of the prominent eSports personalities, including players, content creators, managers, team owners, and casters. Here's what they had to say.

Professional eSports personalities react to PUBG Mobile ban

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TSM Entity Ghatak: Professional PUBGM Player

Everyone's heart is broken at this moment as we are here only because of PUBGM's existence. However, nation comes first for me, considering national security and the tension between India and China. We will always support the Indian government in whatever decison they take. The upcoming gamers are requested to not lose hope as there are a lot of games which they can always excel in. I hope that the situation returns to normal soon and PUBG Mobile can return with a bang. "Apna time Aaega".

IND Snax: Professional PUBGM player

Don't freak out, just wait for the next announcement from the officials. We respect the decision by Government of India. Just hoping everything gets resolved as soon as possible.

Maxtern: PUBGM Content Creator

The PUBG Mobile ban is due to a lot of factors. If it is due to concerns over national security, then it is fine. It will definitely affect the rising talents who just made their way to PMCO. It will also have an impact on those who went against their family to make a name for themselves. However, the professional players have enough resources to try and adapt to newer games that have a huge audience. It will surely take time to switch to other games, but PUBG is not the only game that has a high viewership. Content Creators like Mythpat and Triggered Insan have a loyal audience too. Players who only used to create content based on PUBGM are surely going to face some difficulties.

SGE Samuel: Team SynerGE Founder and CEO

PUBG Mobile paved the way for Indian eSports and gave us a solid base as an organization. It is a set back for sure, but we have a positive outlook on the situation. Players will now look for alternatives like COD Mobile, Valorant, etc.

Fnatic Aurum: Professional PUBGM Coach

I suggest that we should not panic at this moment and have faith in our government. If our honourable PM has made this decision for the country's benefit, then we should support it.

Sparki: Professional PUBGM Caster

We all are very disappointed regarding PUBG Mobile's ban in the country. At the same time, national security should be the top priority. There were many official and 3rd party tournaments that were lined up for me as a caster. I already used to cast games like FIFA, and now would be trying new games too. But I still hope PUBGM returns soon.

TGW Bababunny: Esports event organizer

It's a dark day for the eSports community in India. It's like a lockdown & we don't know till when it will last. This step might have destroyed a lot of dreams. When it comes to me as an event organizer, we were scheduled to host 2-3 events in the coming month. All those projects will be on hold as of now, until PUBG Mobile gets unbanned. I am quite sure that it will be back within a month. At the same time, we will be looking forward to organizing tournaments/Scrims in games such as CODM and Free Fire.

Kammaljeet Singh: Ex Entity Manager

PUBG has been a major reason for the boom in the Indian gaming industry, and has managed to provide so many job opportunities too. Working in the gaming industry is just like any other job, it’s just that people lean towards gaming more is because it’s fun to work in and you can earn through it. Suddenly, you get a news that your job will be no more, creating panic among gamers, organisations, creators, investors and many others. But yeah, nation comes first, always. If there are concerns related to national security, I guess everyone should respect the decision. But I do hope officials come out with a positive solution for us all.

Rahul Hinduja: Founding Member & COO, Global Esports

The ban is unfortunate, but whats important is understanding why it happened. When the safety and privacy of our country is under question, no chances should be taken. There’s no doubt that PUBG Mobile enriched the Indian eSports ecosystem, and no other game or platform can recreate this in the next 10 years. But more than the game, the community it built is what gave rise to what today is a thriving eSports ecosystem. The need for content is only going to grow, and the influencers in our space now have to find new and innovative ways to entertain their audience. With streamers already opting for other games, it’s going to be exciting to see what’s next!

Dr Rushindra Sinha and Mohit Israney, Founders of Global Esports, India’s leading and Asia’s fastest growing premier Esports organisation

Globally, the eSports Industry has been booming and a lot of its growth, especially in the last three years, can be attributed to the Indian gaming community. There’s no doubt that PUBG Mobile has accelerated the Indian eSports scenario to a whole new level, where the world is now taking notice of Indian gamers and teams. However, at this point in time, our country’s security and sovereignty should rightly precede every other action. While we all as gamers are rooting for a dialogue and corrective actions in terms of data security and privacy concerns, we want to remind the community of gamers to not lose hope. We have a fair share of gaming titles to choose from, across mobiles, PCs and consoles, and a lot of these offerings can benefit from the gaming skills PUBG players have developed over the years.

Image Credits: Rushindra Sinha, CEO and Founder, Global Esports