PUBG ends India franchise with China's Tencent, issues statement with hope to reverse ban

Issuing a statement days after the Indian government banned the app due to its Chinese links, PUBG Corporation has said that it hopes to work hand-in-hand with the Centre, while being fully compliant with Indian laws and regulations. In the official blog post, South Korea-based PUBG Corporation said that it hopes to publish all games in India but not via Chinese company Tencent Games. The company in its statement added that it is committed to providing its service by sustaining a localised and healthy gameplay environment.

As the Indian government had on September 2 banned PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite, now the company has decided to no longer authorize the PUBG MOBILE franchise in India to Tencent Games, adding that publishing responsibilities in India will be taken by PUBG Corporation - a South Korean gaming company. This means PUBG could be back in India if the company manages to convince the Indian government that it has no links to Chinese PLA. 

Here is the statement:

PUBG Corporation is actively monitoring the situation around the recent bans of PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik and PUBG MOBILE Lite in India. It has seen an overwhelming amount of support for the game from the country’s player base and would like to thank the community for their passion and enthusiasm.

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. It 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.

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. 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.

PUBG MOBILE is the mobile version of PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG), an intellectual property owned and developed by PUBG Corporation, a South Korean gaming company. The company 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 is committed to providing its unique battle royale experience to a global audience and hopes to continue engaging with its passionate player base in India. In addition to regular content updates, the company is exploring different ways to engage its community in India through various region-based activities, including esports and community events.

Further updates will be provided at a later date when available.

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Earlier, reacting to the ban, China's Commerce Ministry said Beijing is seriously concerned and 'resolutely opposes' the move. It asked India to correct its mistakes. Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said 'India has abused the concept of national security and adopted discriminatory restrictive measures against Chinese companies.'

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118 More Chinese Including PUBG Apps Banned

The Centre banned 118 more Chinese Apps including PUBG amid the prolonged standoff with China at the Line of Actual Control. As per the Union government, they were engaged in activities that are prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the state. The Information Technology Ministry received numerous complaints regarding misuse of these Apps for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers located outside India.

It noted with deep concern the compilation of data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security. Mentioning that the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, MHA has sent an exhaustive recommendation to block these malicious Apps, the IT Ministry added that there has been a bipartisan concern by public representatives as well as a strong chorus in the public space to take strict action. The Apps have been banned in both mobile and non-mobile Internet-enabled devices. The Centre exuded confidence that this move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. Recently, the Information and Technology Ministry banned 47 Apps which were variants or clones of the 59 Chinese-linked Apps banned earlier. 

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