PUBG Mobile terminates all service and access for users in India from today

PUBG Mobile application has terminated all service and access for users in India with effect from October 30 and the development comes almost two months after the Indian government banned the Tencent-backed gaming app in the country. 

While PUBG was banned by the Indian government for any further downloads on September 2, the latest move implies that it would not be accessible for users who had the app already installed on their phones, tablets, and PCs. 

“To comply with the interim order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology dated September 2, 2020, Tencent Games will terminate all service and access for users in India to PUBG MOBILE nordic Map: Livik and PUBG MOBILE Lite on October 30, 2020. The rights to publish PUBG MOBILE in India will be returned to the owner of the PUBG intellectual property,” PUBG Mobile said on its Facebook page.

“Protecting user data has always been a top priority and we have always complied with applicable data protection laws and regulations in India,” the statement added.

The clash on the border between India and China in early June had triggered a sentiment to boycott products of Chinese-origin following which the Indian government banned over 220 apps with links to China citing security concerns. 

Soon after the ban, PUBG Corporation had also ended its publishing ties with Tencent Games in India. It is worth noting that India has contributed 24% or 175 million out of PUBG’s lifetime 734 million downloads till June.

PUBG Mobile is the mobile version of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, an intellectual property owned and developed by South Korean gaming firm Bluehole’s subsidiary PUBG Corporation. Chinese tech giant Tencent had tied up with Bluehole to introduce the mobile version of the game in the country. 

The latest move is an opportunity for similar gaming apps such as Garena Free Fire and Call of Duty. The duo along with Ludo King were the top three downloaded apps since the announcement of the ban on the gaming app in India, whereas PUBG’s global downloads had shrunk by more than 26% in September, as per data sourced from Sensor Tower.