The ban imposed on PUBG Mobile in early September disrupted Indian gamers, as it was the most popular game in the country played by millions of users. PUBG Mobile responded to this ban by cutting off ties with Tencent Games and signed up with Microsoft Azure for data management. PUBG Mobile started releasing teasers of ‘PUBG Mobile – India’ a version made specifically for India and partnered with popular streamers like Jonathan, Kronten, and Dynamo for an official advertisement during Diwali. The game, however, still has not made its way in India and hence we filed an RTI (Right To Information) seeking some transparency about this situation, to which our Government has responded.
RTI for PUBG Mobile India
On 17th of December, Mr. Chetan Bhawani – Founder of Gizmo Times filed an RTI seeking some information about the release of PUBG Mobile in India, as there were certain speculations that the Government of India is holding the game back from an official launch as PUBG Mobile has even registered as an official company in Bengaluru, India. The best way to get a correct answer was to ask the Government itself, so we took the official way where we asked,
Hello Sir,
This is regarding the need for some clarity on the situation of the launch of PUBG Mobile India, which seems to have registered a company now in Bengaluru, and they are all set for the launch of the game, but there has been a lot of misinformation spread about MEITY allowing and not allowing the launch of the game, after the previous ban of the game when it was being marketed by Tencent Games. I, along with a lot of gamers in India who are looking to set their gaming career up, are seeking a reply to the situation of the launch of the game in India.
Reply by Government of India
The Government of India responded to our RTI on the 7th of January by stating – “The Ministry does not deal with the launch of any App”. You can see the official response in the screenshot below.
This clearly states that the Government of India is not holding back or not allowing the game to launch in India. The reason for the Indian launch being delayed has to be something else, on which we do not have any clarification from official sources. But one thing is for sure, that we can be assured that the Government is not restricting a fully-ready game from launching in India for any reason.
So why is the launch of PUBG Mobile India Delayed?
After the response to our RTI, we can say that there are different legal reasons due to which PUBG Mobile has not been able to bring the game back yet. Even they want to launch the game as soon as possible, as India is the biggest market for them globally. The delay can be, as per our thoughts, is the data migration from Global Servers to India, as it’s the same data that was being shared with Tencent Games earlier, for which the game received a ban.
As of now, the game remains banned in India, with the official launch having no hints. From our RTI, it is clear that the Government of India is not intentionally holding the game back. We will keep you updated with all the latest news regarding the launch of PUBG Mobile – India, so stay tuned.
