PUBG Corporation will now self-release PUBG Mobile in India. Previously, the game was released by the Chinese company Tencent. PUBG Mobile was banned by the Indian government last week for allegedly stealing data from users.
In a press release, PUBG Corporation writes the decision of the Indian government to “fully understand and respect.” The company says it considers the privacy and security of its players a high priority and hopes to work with the government on a solution that will allow Indian players to play the game again.
The developer therefore says ‘in the light of recent developments’ that it has decided to withdraw the publishing rights of PUBG Mobile from Tencent. As far as is known, this only concerns the Indian version; Tencent remains responsible for the iOS and Android game in other markets, including the European one. When PUBG Mobile will be released in India by PUBG Corporation is not clear. The company only speaks of the ‘near future’.
India banned PUBG Mobile on Wednesday for allegedly engaging in “activities detrimental to the country’s sovereignty, defense, security and public order.” The app would steal data from users and send it to servers ‘in locations outside India’. Both the regular PUBG game and the Lite version were banned by the government.
PUBG Mobile isn’t the only app that has recently been banned in India. A total of 118 Chinese apps have been banned in India, including Baidu and Alipay. This step cannot be separated from the border conflict in the North Indian region of Ladakh. In June, 20 people were killed on the side of Indian armed forces and tensions have now flared up again. This conflict between India and China has been going on since 1962, when the countries waged a brief war there.