PUBG Aims For Relaunch In India

As online gaming increasingly occupies the time and minds of young Indians, we follow the latest on the most relevant digital entertainment trends and top mobile gaming Apps.

PUBG to Get a Second Premiere

Brief intro for the uninitiated - PUBG stands for Player Unknown's Battlegrounds. A free-to-play "battle royale" game for mobile devices, not only was it the most popular game of 2020, it continued leading the download charts even after it was blocked by the IT Ministry in an attempt to curb personal information misuse.

Now PUBG is set for a second launch, in time for Diwali week, and millions seem to get excited by the news. The truth of the matter is, dynamic urban life and COVID-19 distancing measures have left a few options for enjoying some safe entertainment with friends or family. Many choose to play some social games with their peers. Others prefer some small gambling at an online casino in India, especially during Diwali.

And then there's the group who flick through other gaming options but expect their favourite PUBG, essentially. It seems that the game makers have already contacted some important gaming talent in the country and asked their expert opinion, informing them on the possibility of resuming services soon.

Foreign Policy Invades Digital Market Trends

The fact of the matter is that the reason to block the game in the first place may not have been entirely regulatory. It appears that as a result of the June border clash with China in Eastern Ladakh, the Central Government re-evaluated some of the digital gateways it leaves open for foreign operators to exploit.

Declared a threat to national security by the IT Ministry, PUBG was only one of roughly 118 apps which were banned on the ground of the same national security concerns. Those Apps included Tik Tok, Baidu, several Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

And While PUBG was distributed and promoted by China's Tencent at the time, the game makers (South Korean developer "Krafton") are trying to reposition it as the safe and reliable mobile game it probably really is. Microsoft's "Azure cloud services will not host the game, while Krafton will manage distribution firsthand.

Now that there is little to no Chinese involvement in the game ownership or market placement, the summer ban appears to have been lifted. Some gamers had been waiting for such an outcome and are already eager to dive straight back into the PUBG world!

Mobile Gamers Will Get Theirs Either Way

Having addressed privacy and security adequately, Krafton and the PUBG team have turned their attention to product promotion and distribution. Officially the announcement has not been made yet, although there is a campaign being prepared during Diwali, with Akshay Kumar endorsing PUBG and the gaming platform.

The PUBG Corporation is also reportedly in discussions with payment providers Paytm and Airtel telecom to explore further possible collaborations upon the game relaunch. The most downloaded online mobile game during the first Lockdown is here to stay and its creators are looking for ways to capitalise on the star product in their portfolio.