PUBG Corporation on Tuesday said it has made the decision to no longer authorise the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile franchise to China-based Tencent Games in India, opening the possibility of the ban being lifted.
The popular game is distributed in India by Tencent Holdings. “In light of recent developments, PUBG Corporation has made the decision to no longer authorize the PUBG Mobile franchise to Tencent Games in India,” the company said in a statement. Moving forward, PUBG Corporation will take on all publishing responsibilities within India.
“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 localized and healthy gameplay environment for its fans,” it said. The company said it is actively engaged in developing and publishing PUBG on multiple platforms, including PUBG Mobile in select territories, to provide the best player experiences possible.
"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," the company said. The company 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".
The news was music to ears of the upset and outraged fans who finally had a reason to rejoice. Several others mocked Akshay Kumar's upcoming game "FAU-G" that was announced just a couple of days after PUBG got shelved in the country.
Earlier this month, the government banned 118 apps over national security concerns, including PUBG Mobile, Baidu and a couple of virtual private networks (VPNs) that allowed access to TikTok that was earlier banned.
The action came after the fresh Chinese incursion attempts in Indian territory at Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh. The PUBG game, which has more than 600 million downloads and 50 million active players globally, has nearly 33 million users in India.