PUBG mobile game has been unbanned in India with a new avatar and name. Get ready for chicken dinner.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on September, 2020 announced the ban on PUBG Mobile along with 117 other apps in India. PUBG Mobile is a widely popular mobile game, with millions of active players in India in 2019. The game was soon banned by Indian ISPs and removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The primary concern has been the ownership of Chinese giant Tencent and its alleged data transfer to servers in China.

PUBG (Player Unknown Battleground) is an online multiplayer game, published by PUBG corporation and subsidiary of South Korean video game company. On 30th July 2016, design by Brendar Greene launched an online game which is an evolution in the whole world. The game PUBG popular because of, it's easy to stream, you can voice chat with friends while you play. India is the biggest user market for the game.

What is PUBG?

In this game, 100 players fight inside a digital landscape, with the last one or team being the winner. There are currently 4 landscapes or maps that players can play on, each with many different types of natural landscapes, such as rivers, grasslands, rocky plains, lakes, hills, mountains, and swamps. These include many different types of buildings, from small huts and one-room houses to large multi-storey houses, hospitals, schools, hotels and even military bases.

Players parachute over the landscape from a plane and then search buildings for guns, melee weapons, ammunition and bombs to fight. Armor and helmets that will increase their durability and bandages, health packs, energy drinks, and pain relievers that will heal them from damage. There are also three sizes of backpacks, giving them the greater ability to carry the equipment they can find. The landscape is vast, so players often have to travel thousands of feet within the game.

➤ PUBG is a simple one task game, but it's features like voice chatting, graphics and the idea to end the game is very unique, that is why PUBG has become an extraordinary game.
➤ PUBG mobile accumulating 1 billion downloads as of March 2021 and crossing over $4.3 billion on mobile as of December 2020.

Why was PUBG banned in India?

➤ PUBG mobile was banned under the section 69A of the information technology (IT) Act. It's all start from September 2020, when the government of India banned hundreds of Chinese applications in the country. The Indian government said "It's engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India security of the state and public order".
➤ The reason why PUBG was banned, the game is more addictive and it doesn't care about the health of the user. Not only in India PUBG was banned by more countries like China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Korea, Jordan, Nepal, Israel and Iraq for different-different reasons.
➤ PUBG lite will also officially shut down globally on 29th April 2021. The Krafton confirmed the news on the official website.

PUBG unbanned in India :

On 2nd July 2021 finally PUBG relaunched with a new name in India called BGMI (Battleground Mobile India). BGMI is already available in Google Play with new features, you can go and download the game and make your chicken dinner.

India is not a cup of tea for PUBG corporation. Many RIT application were fielded even before the relaunch of PUBG/BGMI in India. And the Indian ministry had clearly stated that "the app will be checked by centre, if PUBG mobile india found the every rules and regulations, the centre may give permission to relaunch the game in India".

On 2nd September 2020, the Indian government banned PUBG Mobile due to data privacy concerns. The primary concern has been the ownership of chinese giant Tencent and its alleged data transfer to servers in China. However, recently, PUBG India Private Limited has been registered as a subsidiary of a Foreign Company with the Indian government. On November 21, PUBG India Pvt. Ltd which is a subsidiary of a foreign company has officially registered itself with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Before the relaunch of BGMI/PUBG,according to the AFK gaming report, kumar krishanan lyer and hyunil sohn, The director of PUBG india Pvt LTD. Hyunil sohn is the head of corporate development at Krafton Inc, gave an update on the relaunch of PUBG india. “I cannot tell the timing or anything because we don’t know yet. But what I can tell you is, we care about the Indian market greatly and also that’s how I get to know you and get to know friends in the Indian gaming industry now. So definitely, we will work hard to make it happen,”. This only meant that the corporation has started the process of regaining lost ground.

➤ PUBG corporation had said that PUBG mobile comes with data privacy and the security of Indian gamers being top priority. There will be new rules and guidelines for players under the age of 18, including parental controls and more.
➤ In December 2020, Krafton announced the new version of PUBG in India. The game developer released an official teaser as well.
➤ Ahead of the relaunch, some reports said that the game might release in early June, another report said that the game would release on June 10. But Krafton had not officially released the date.
➤ PUBG was recently unbanned in China, Pakistan, Korea and Nepal.

PUBG corporation knows very well the "market of India" how important for them. Reason is glass clear, In covid-19 pandemic and lockdown the PUBG revenue hit a record high of $270 million (around Rs 2,021 crores) in March with 175 million installation. India tops in number of downloads.

Side Effects of PUBG :

The game is more addictive, it doesn't care about user mental health. It especially affects children below the age of 18 years.

➤ A 10th class student from Telengana committee suicide after being scolded by his mother for playing PUBG.
➤ The children who are playing this game are becoming more aggressive, there is a change in his/her behaviour also.
➤ Many more side effects like weakening eyesight, neck pain, fatigue, sleeping disorder, mood swings etc.
➤ The WHO (World Health Organization) has declared gaming addiction may cause mental health disorder.

PUBG New Features :

The PUBG/BGMI game unbanned or released with the these new features.

➤ PUBG Corporation has improved the game content and adapted it to "reflect local needs".
➤ There is a virtual simulation ground setting.
➤ New characters and skins.
➤ Green hit effects instead of red.
➤ There is also added a feature to restrict game time for young players.

Declaration: Information appearing in this blog is for general awareness or knowledge only based on online research and studies.