India on Wednesday banned PUBG Mobile, a very popular mobile game in the country. The ban came as India banned another 118 Chinese apps.
India Today Tech
New Delhi
September 2, 2020UPDATED: September 2, 2020 19:09 IST
HIGHLIGHTS
India on Wednesday banned PUBG Mobile in the country.
It is estimated that in India there are over 50 million PUBG users.
Along with ban on PUBG the government also banned an additional 117 Chinese apps.
There were rumours of it, and now it has happened. India on Wednesday announced a ban on additional 118 Chinese apps, including PUBG Mobile. For now the details are scarce but we do know why the apps have been banned and some educated guess can be made as to what happens next.
Here is quick summary of the details around PUBG ban in India. According to App Annie, an agency that monitors use of mobile apps, PUBG has over 50 million users in India of which close to 35 million are active users.
PUBG Banned in India because of China connection
This is first thing you need to know. India has banned the PUBG Mobile because of its Chinese connection and because India and China are currently in middle of border dispute China is trying to encroach on Indian territory in Ladakh India is hitting back by banning use of Chinese apps in the country. Earlier government had banned a number of apps, including TikTok. Now, there are additional 118 apps banned, including PUBG.
In a statement, Indian government said, “Using the sovereign powers, the Government of India has decided to block the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices. These apps are listed in the attached appendix. This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.”
Here is the full list of apps that have been banned:
PUBG Ban in India: What happens next
What is going to happen in the case of PUBG Mobile is going to be story similar to what has happened to TikTok. In the next few hours, or a day or so, when Apple and Google receive government notification, they will remove PUBG from their app stores for Indian users. People who have already installed PUBG will continue to have the app on their phones, but it may not work because telecom companies like Jio and Airtel will block PUBG connection to servers after they receive notice from the government.
As for PUBG Mobile allowed in India again, it is not going to happen anytime soon. This is because the ban is direct result of India’s struggle against Chinese aggression on border and until that is not resolved, India is unlikely to allow the use of banned Chinese apps in the country.
PUBG ban in India: Can you still play it
Yes and no. when we talk of PUBG, we miss that there are two PUBG apps. Originally the game was made for computers by a South Korean company. This game remains available in India. But it can run only on desktop computers and laptops. The PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite are the games made Tencent, a Chinese company, under licence from the Korean company. These two apps have been banned.
What it means in simple words is that you can still play PUBG in India on a computer desktop or laptop. But you can no longer play it on the mobile phone.
