PUBG Mobile is the massively popular battle royale game for mobile. Which is available to almost every country in the world. But currently in India PUBG Mobile is banned due to some reasons.
The question is, will PUBG Mobile be unbanned, in India?
It’s already been more than two weeks since 2nd September in this year 2020 (The ban date of PUBG Mobile in India.).
But gamers and streamers around India are already frustrated over the ban/unban situation of pubg mobile. So in this article, we gathered enough information about the possible outcome and available information about this scenario.
But first let me introduce you to the origin of PUBG Mobile, the company behind it for development, publications, and a few more information.
Origin of PUBG Mobile
This mobile battle royale game initially released on 9th February 2018. Which is derived from the original PC battle royale game Player Unknown’s Battle Ground, PUBG.The main company behind PUBG is Krafton Game Union. Which is founded by the south Korean company Bluehole. But for the mobile version of PUBG, the PUBG Mobile is developed, maintained, and published by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd.
Although the main company behind PUBG, bluehole’s Krafton Game Union develops the original content. Tencent Games does the after development and ports for mobile. As well as maintaining the game itself.
Why PUBG Mobile is banned in India?
Before knowing if there’s a possibility of pubg mobile unban, we must know why it is banned in India in the first place. There are many reasons behind it. But I will tell you the most relevant ones here.Addictive Nature of PUBG
This is not new to be a reason for the PUBG ban. I did a little more research and have seen that in these four countries Nepal, Pakistan, Iraq, and Jordan, It is already banned due to the addictive nature of the game.But the main issue is the game in India is widely popular among the younger youth of the country. Which can be really harmful to children below the age group of 18. Thus it can be a reason for the PUBG ban in India.
Although India is a free & democratic country this might not be the case.
Privacy Concern
As PUBG Mobile maintained by a Chinese company, Tencent Holdings Ltd, the privacy of user data might be a major issue. Because a Chinese company must comply with the Chinese government. Thus the data or the information of users in PUBG Mobile might be used by the Chinese government for its own benefit.In the age of information technology, user data is a powerful weapon. It can be harmful in many ways, such as manipulation of content, user location, user behavior monitoring, and more.
In PUBG Mobile every data passes through Tencent’s server. Which logs information such as, user data, voice chat, text chat, and average spend time in-game.
Imagine if a very intelligent person knows everything about you. Then he might manipulate you to do things for their own benefits. Even to some extent, they can predict what you are going to do and what you are going to say. Replace that intelligent person with the AI (Artificial Intelligence) which records your data.
India & China Relationship
I’m not going to dig deeper in this regard. But we already know, the relationship between China and the USA. And the ban of Huawei and TikTok.In India, this is no different. The relationship between India and China was not very good from the beginning. But now it’s getting a lot worst.
Because of that simple reason India would not want china to harvest data of Indian citizens. And now for that sole reason, Chinese apps and websites are getting banned in India. PUBG Mobile is no exception.
When Will PUBG Mobile be unbanned in India?
If you are a fan of PUBG Mobile in India, then you might wonder if it will be unbanned anytime soon. Then there is some good news for you.PUBG Corporation To Break Ties With Tencent
As per the report, PUBG Corporation & Krafton Games Union is said to break ties with the Chinese video game company Tencent Holdings Ltd. As they said to respect user data and privacy.After the ban of PUBG Mobile in India, Tencent as a company already lost a significant amount of market value. Although the number might not be accurate it is said to be that, they lost $14 billion USD worth of market value after the ban in India.
Unban of PUBG Mobile in India
To unban PUBG Mobile in India, PUBG Corporation needs to publish the mobile franchise of PUBG from a different publisher or PUBG Corporation themself.Many peoples are saying that mobile video game publishing companies like Gameloft or Electronics Arts (EA) will replace Tencent Holdings Ltd for publication & maintenance of PUBG Mobile.
But there is no such official claim by PUBG Corporation yet.
India has one of the largest mobile player bases among other countries. Very likely PUBG Corporation is going to take a step to claim the mobile gaming market of India.
Conclusion
The reasons behind the ban of PUBG Mobile is not a casual reason, to begin with. While the countries safety and data protection come first. The Chinese apps & games will remain banned in India.But for PUBG Mobile there’s a catch if the company shifts towards a non-Chinese publisher (Even that is not an easy thing to do as a company.). Then there is a chance of unbanning, still, it will take some significant amount of time.
Tell me what you think about this, in the comments section. Meanwhile, you can look, for some alternative games to play.
Also Read: 10 Best Multiplayer & Cross-Platform Games for Mobile
