The mobile version of the combat game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or PUBG Mobile, will not be accessible for users in India from Friday, the company informed in a statement. The move came nearly two months after the Union government banned 118 Chinese apps, including PUBG Mobile and its lightweight version PUBG Lite.
The government, in its order, had said that the apps were “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”. Since then, the apps have been unavailable for download in India on Google Play and Apple App Store. However, users who had already downloaded the app on their devices could play the game.
PUBG Corporation tried to salvage the situation by taking over the game’s publishing responsibilities in India from China-based Tencent Games, but the move proved to be futile.
On Friday, a post on the game’s official Facebook page said that its parent company Tencent Games will terminate the services from October 30. “Protecting user data has always been a top priority and we have always complied with applicable data protection laws and regulations in India,” the post stated.
PUBG Mobile had about 50 million monthly active users in India, much more than its competitors in the segment like Call of Duty: Mobile and Fortnite, according to Tech Crunch.
On Friday morning, #PUBGMOBILE was trending on Twitter, with several users expressing their disappointment over the ban.
Here are some reactions:
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