PUBG Corporation has announced that it has ended its partnership with Tencent Games to publish and distribute PUBG Mobile in India. This move comes in the aftermath of the Indian government banning PUBG Mobile. The mobile version of the popular battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds was one of 118 Chinese apps that the Indian government banned, citing national security concerns. The game was pulled from Apple and Google's respective app stores in compliance with the order. Geopolitical tensions between China and India are high due to an ongoing military standoff between the two countries at the Sino-Indian border and are continuing to escalate after reports of shots being fired in the area.
In the same statement, PUBG Corporation also announced that it will "take on all publishing responsibilities within [India]" for PUBG Mobile. The South Korean company will be working with the Indian government to find a way that will allow the game back into the market while complying with local laws and regulations. PUBG Corporation and its parent company Krafton did not comment on their relationship with Tencent Games in other regions.
PUBG Mobile has considerable presence in India as the most popular mobile game in the country; the mobile battle royale has over 40 million active users and 175 million downloads in the country, which accounts for about a quarter of the game's global downloads. This move by PUBG Corporation has been made to ensure that its highly successful product can be reinstated in a major commercial region. But it remains to be seen whether or not this will result in the game returning to the Indian market.
PUBG Mobile is not the only noteworthy Chinese app banned by the Indian government. Video-sharing app TikTok was also banned for the same reasons of national security concerns. With there being no end in sight to the border skirmishes between China and India, the future for these banned apps remains in jeopardy. Though PUBG Mobile could lean on its South Korean origins to re-enter the market, other apps may not be as lucky.
However, this approach may not work as PUBG Mobile is developed by Tencent Games. While the South Korean PUBG Corporation can claim publishing responsibilities and intellectual property ownership, the game was ultimately developed by a Chinese company and therefore can still run afoul of Indian data laws. Time will tell whether PUBG Mobile will return to India or if it will be banned like cheaters in the game.
PUBG Mobile is available now for Android and iOS.
Source: PUBG