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It’s been more than six months since PUBG mobile was banned in India along with 118 other Chinese apps. PUBG Mobile offered a unique battle royale experience on mobile devices. Since the ban, fans have been wondering if the game will ever be relaunched in the country. So far, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) of India has been firm in its decision to not lift the ban on PUBG Mobile.
Developer Krafton Inc. has been trying to get PUBG Mobile unbanned in India but in vain. Recently, Sean Hyunil Sohn, Head of Corporate Development at Krafton Inc. commented on the ban and stated that the company cares about the Indian market.
The future looks bleak for PUBG Mobile in India
NODWIN Gaming founder Akshat Rathee and Sean Hyunil Sohn were invited as guest speakers at the India Gaming Conference 2021. Rathee enquired Sohn about the relaunch of PUBG Mobile in India to which he replied “I cannot really tell a timing, because we don’t know it yet but what I can tell you is that we care about the Indian market greatly and that’s why I get to know you [Rathee] and I get to know a lot of friends in the Indian gaming industry. So definitely we will work hard to make it happen.”
Krafton Inc. has been persistently trying to get PUBG Mobile unbanned in India. They appointed a new operations team for PUBG Mobile in India and also announced the development of PUBG Mobile India, a game better suited for the Indian audience.
Krafton Inc. recently announced PUBG: New State, which is the sequel of PUBG Mobile and will be launched later this year. But the game won’t be available in India at the time of launch and Krafton Inc’s chairman Chang Byung-Gyu stated that they want to “focus on the re-release of the Indian version of Battleground Mobile” before launching PUBG: New State in the country.
Looks like there’s a long time before Indian fans can immerse themselves in PUBG Mobile again. The absence of PUBG Mobile paved way for other online mobile games like Free Fire and Call of Duty: Mobile, and Clash of Clans to strengthen their hold in the Indian gaming ecosystem. Today, Free Fire is one of the most popular competitive esports titles in the country.
