It has finally been confirmed. After all the speculations and reports of PUBG Mobile India trying to make a relaunch back in the country in March 2021, the Government of India has effectively ended that hope as well. According to a report in LiveMint, the Government of India has apparently stated that the ban on TikTok and ALL the Chinese apps will continue in the near future. In June 2020, the Government of India had banned TikTok along with 59 Chinese apps while in September 2020, 118 apps including PUBG Mobile India were banned by the government. This latest announcement that the ban will continue effectively ends any attempt of PUBG Mobile India to try a relaunch back in India in March 2021. All the apps have been banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

The announcement made by the Government of India, specifically related to TikTok and other Chinese apps means the future of PUBG Mobile India is very uncertain. Recently, Krafton Inc had posted an opening for an eSports consultant in Bangalore on their Linkedin profile but they soon had to withdraw it in a couple of hours. This move sparked speculation that PUBG Mobile India's March re-entry was going to become very difficult. The Government of India's announcement means that unless and until the Government does not relent, PUBG Mobile India's comeback legally in the country is next to impossible. 

Updates and methods to play PUBG Mobile India

PUBG Mobile India can be played by gamers by bypassing the ban through a secure VPN network. However, there is a lot of legal ambiguity about whether the game can be played in such a manner. The VPN network might be a tool to bypass a legal ban, but the Government of India has added that access to PUBG Mobile was not illegal. Even now, gamers can play PUBG Mobile global but they cannot play PUBG Mobile India on their phones.

Recently, there were a couple of updates in the global 1.2 APK version with the introduction of runes in the game. There are the Flame Rune, Artic Rune and other updates that have enhanced the quality of the game. However, gamers in India cannot access the game yet. To compound matters even further, PUBG Mobile India's rival FAU-G is also slated to launch in two days' time on Republic Day, further eroding the market of PUBG Mobile India.