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Krafton Inc. recently announced that PUBG Mobile would make a comeback in India as Battlegrounds Mobile India.
The revival of the famous battle royale title has brought back memories of the ban upon PUBG Mobile for many fans.
Most gamers are aware that the game has been banned in India. However, many are not aware of the underlying reasons behind the suspension, the details of which this article will reveal.
PUBG Mobile: When and why was it banned in India?
The diplomatic relationship between India and China has turned sour of late. As a result, the former accused Chinese developers of security breaches and imposed a ban upon several Chinese apps.
The first suspension was imposed upon 59 apps on June 29th, 2020. A month later, another 47 Chinese apps were taken down by the Government from the Android Play Store and the Apple App Store.
The third and final wave saw PUBG Mobile and over a hundred other applications barred from the Play Store and the App Store on September 2nd, 2020.
PUBG Mobile and the hundred other applications were banned by the Government in compliance with Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The ban imposed upon these Chinese apps was a major setback in the diplomatic relationship between the two nations.
PUBG was initially released as a PC and console game globally. However, it was banned in China as it was termed to be too violent. PUBG Corporation then partnered with Chinese gaming developer Tencent to gain entry into the Chinese market.
PUBG went on to taste immense success in the Chinese gaming community with Tencent’s help. The Chinese developers also brainstormed the idea of bringing the battle royale genre into the mobile gaming sector.
Tencent’s direct involvement with PUBG Mobile compelled the Government of India to ban it from the Google Play Store and the App Store.
Professional gamers from India represented the country at various global tournaments and competitions. Popular content creators also earned a significant amount of money with regular streams of PUBG Mobile.
The ban affected them greatly, although the Esports Federation of India stated that the esports industry is not dependent upon just one game.
Other battle royale games such as COD Mobile and Garena Free Fire capitalized upon the opportunity to take a fair share of the gaming market following PUBG Mobile’s ban.
But PUBG Mobile is set to return to India in the form of Battlegrounds Mobile India. The developers aim to reclaim their position in the booming Indian gaming community.
Battlegrounds Mobile India is developed entirely by Krafton Inc. The developers also assured gamers that it had been designed according to government policies. Therefore, the game has no reason to be banned like PUBG Mobile.
