Soon after the Indian government had banned PUBG Mobile, the company officially responded stating that it would revoke Tencent’s license in the country. PUBG Corporation has also assured to work with the Indian government to lift the PUBG ban so that gamers can continue playing the battle royale.
Will these measures be enough for PUBG to get unbanned in India? Will PUBG be back in India? While there is no sure answer to this at the moment, the probability of the government lifting the PUBG Mobile ban is on the higher side.
The Indian government banned 118 Chinese apps, including PUBG Mobile. It said that these apps were engaged in activities that were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.
PUBG Mobile is a game developed by South Korea’s PUBG Corporation. Now you may wonder why a game developed by a South Korean company was banned in India. The answer is: PUBG Mobile India’s franchise was being owned by Chinese multinational technology conglomerate holding company, Tencent Games.
Several Chinese companies are accused of sharing data with Beijing, thus risking user privacy. Since Tencent owned a stake in PUBG Mobile India operations, the government banned the game citing data security concerns.
PUBG responded to the PUBG ban in its statement, “In light of recent developments, PUBG Corporation has made the decision to no longer authorise the PUBG MOBILE franchise to Tencent Games in India. Moving forward, PUBG Corporation will take on all publishing responsibilities within the country. As the company explores ways to provide its own PUBG experience for India in the near future, it is committed to doing so by sustaining a localised and healthy gameplay environment for its fans.”
The company had also announced that the data of all Indian users will be stored locally. “PUBG Corporation fully understands and respects the measures taken by the government as the privacy and security of player data is a top priority for the company. It hopes to work hand-in-hand with the Indian government to find a solution that will allow gamers to once again drop into the battlegrounds while being fully compliant with Indian laws and regulations,” it further said.
