Exactly five days ago, India banned the famous battle-royale game from Tencent called PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG) in their country. It was part of India's purge on Chinese apps including other 117 games. Now, the developer and owner of PUBG have finally decided to let go of their 'Chinese brand' by breaking up with Tencent.
PUBG removes partnership with Tencent in India
By population, India has been one of the largest contributors to PUBG's success. Sensor Tower accumulates that more than a quarter of the game's sales came from the country.
About 40 million players were recorded in July this year, in India. So when the Indian government decided to ban the game, the South Korean battle royale thought a simple solution: Let go of its 'Chinese branding.'
On Monday, Sept. 7, PUBG Corporation releases a statement about the recent India ban. According to their conclusion, the game must not lose its Indian market.
Therefore, the company needs to let go of the name Tencent Games in its brand in the country. Instead, operate as their own.
"In light of recent developments, PUBG Corporation has made the decision to no longer authorize the PUBG MOBILE franchise to Tencent Games in India. Moving forward, PUBG Corporation will take on all publishing responsibilities within the country," said the announcement. "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."
India specifically banned PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik and PUBG MOBILE Lite over privacy and security concerns. Just like the same thing that happened with Tik Tok.
Will this finally allow Indians to play PUBG?
We haven't heard yet from the Indian government regarding this new partnership. But if technicalities will be observed, India only banned the game due to its 'Chinese name.'
Once the South Korean brand takes over, there could be huge chances that the game will continue to push through on being played in the country again.
And this was Daniel Ahmad, Senior Analyst at Niko Partners, think what will also happen.
It is worth noting that Tencent did move to ensure that data and servers were stored in India a few months ago. The move was to assure regulators in India that there are no privacy concerns.
However the app was still banned because of the Chinese dev/pub affiliation. — Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) September 8, 2020
We expect the Indian government to release its statement regarding this issue soon. Tencent too.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Jamie Pancho
