PUBG Mobile, one of the most popular games in India, is making its come back once again after its ban in the country. A few days back an official post on micro-blogging site shared that it is coming soon in India with the launch of the teaser.
India is one of the biggest markets in mobile gaming, and thus in no time, PUBG Mobile become so popular. The battle royal game has helped to connect new people online and literally helped to boom various businesses around, one of which is esports. It brought about a major revolution in the country as audiences embraced the mobile battle royale game, which very quickly birthed an esports scene in the nation.
It’s been almost three months after PUBG Mobile ban in India by the government due to data security concerns. PUBG Mobile was banned in India under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act along with PUBG Mobile Lite and 115 other apps. The reason provided by the government stated that the app is engaged in activities that are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity, defence and security of the country.
Earlier, at the end of October, PUBG Mobile has expressed that it will terminate all services and access for Indian users from 30 October 2020 on its official Facebook account. Honestly, during the lockdown, gaming has been an integral part to connect and stay entertained, and the attachment with the game even became deeper. Post the news of termination of the PUBG Mobile server a sense of darkness and sombreness spread across the nation.
However, the sombreness of the Indian PUBG Mobile players has bound the brand to make a comeback after making various changes. Especially for security the PUBG Corporation kicked out Tencent and changed its security system entirely as subsidiary company Krafton partnered with Microsoft. The dates are yet to be confirmed although there has been a rumour that the game will launch today. But still, there are no signs of it.
There have been speculations that PUBG Mobile India has now appeared on the TapTap app store and is currently taking pre-registrations. But hold on! PUBG Corporation is yet to authenticate the pre-register listing and on its official website it still shows that the game is “coming soon.” It is not clear if the listing is genuine and not just a placeholder created by TapTap, which is a popular store for downloading games. Further, the comeback of the game is still contingent on government approval, which might not come so easily.
Here’s how gaming experts weigh in on PUBG Mobile India come back:
Skyesports CEO and founder Shiva Nandy said, “PUBG Mobile India comeback will definitely bring back a lot of old PUBG gamers again. There is a vast audience still eagerly waiting for the return. Now that it will be India specific, this will boost the Indian mobile gaming community. Also, not to forget, since it’s Indian specific, there will be a bit of patriotism among gamers now. Once PUBG Mobile comes back it will be more popular now since the ban has triggered a lot. There will be many more teams participating in esports events. A lot of local brands and regional brands will definitely show interest once it comes back into full-fledged esports scene.”
Ewar Games founder Parth Chadha shared, “PUBG Mobile comeback is great news for the community. The players have respected the ban decision as the nation’s security is foremost. The two months of break might boost up the competitiveness as everyone starts to grind from the same level. We have witnessed the switching of players to COD Mobile and FreeFire as these were the closest alternatives, but the excitement for the lift of the ban hints that the squads will be back to the game once it is available on iOs and Play store.”
Rooter CEO and founder Piyush Kumar shared, “Indian gaming and sports video app are welcoming the news that PUBG is coming back. PUBG has played a very important role in the evolution of the gaming sector in India. It’s once in a lifetime kind of game.”
The Esports Club co-founder Ishaan Arya shared, “PUBG Mobile will certainly be received well upon its return, it’s safe to say millions of gamers have been waiting anxiously to have their favourite game return! Not to mention the thousands of players, streamers and casters who depended on PUBG Mobile for their livelihood. With the indication that PUBG Mobile India will be making significant investments for the game in India, it will certainly help bring back their player base and fuel significant growth as well. The impact on Indian esports will also be massive and I fully expect to see a massive spike in the number of esports events across the country, once again making India one of the major global hubs for mobile esports.”
Indian Gaming League (IGL) CEO Yash Pariani said, “ Esports – in India witnessed a meteoric rise during the lockdown, with PUBG paving the way with the largest audience base it seemed like esports was finally receiving the acknowledgement it deserved, however when the ban was announced it sent shock waves to the users across the country. The average gamer would spend four to five hours daily playing their favourite game. Once the ban was in effect it affected close to 55 million gamers across the country, a significant number of gamers fled across to different titles to fill the void such as COD mobile and Garena Free fire, however, the numbers were nowhere near the same number of gamers who would play PUBG. Players across will rejoice now that will be back officially, a large number of the fan base still managed to play the game however with its official return announced it will dominate gamers across the nation.
We’re expecting there to be even more of a demand than previously, now that it’s officially going to focus on India one we are expecting more localized tournaments and higher prize pools which would lure in even more gamers who may have previously not played it. Expect major updates to the gameplay and with 5G rolling out soon, latency will be a thing of the past, we’ll be seeing even more gamers from tier two and three cities as this rolls out.”
