PUBG announces launch of India specific game; Government remains unfazed

PUBG Corp on Thursday said it will launch a new version of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) mobile game in India after the previous version from a Chinese publisher Tencent Games was banned by India for violating national-security laws. PUBG Corp is a subsidiary of the Krafton Inc. which is a South Korean video game holding company based in Seongnam.

The Indian government had banned PUBG Mobile along with more than 100 other Chinese apps, most made by Tencent and Netease, on September 2, 2020. The ban came into effect anfter the Indian security agencies found these app including PUBG were stealing and surreptitiously transmitting user data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India. At the time of the ban, India was PUBG Mobile’s largest market with the country accounting for 175 million downloads and 24% of global users.

The company on Thursday said that “With privacy and security of Indian player data being a top priority for PUBG Corporation, the company will conduct regular audits and verifications on the storage systems holding Indian users’ personally identifiable information to reinforce security.

However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) that had announced a ban on PUBG and other apps in September, is yet to officially give any relaxation to PUBG. According to a report now by TOI, Government remains unfazed and officials have said “Unless they address the concerns, it will be difficult to grant any relaxation.”

In order to answer to India’s concerns, PUBG Corp has said it is working to provide “a secure and healthy gameplay environment” with the new version. “With privacy and security of Indian player data being a top priority, the company will conduct regular audits and verifications on the storage systems holding Indian users’ personally identifiable information to reinforce security and ensure that their data is safely managed,” PUBG Corp said.

PUBG Corp has taken over all publishing rights from Tencent in India after the ban was effected. The company also said its South Korean parent, Krafton Inc, planned to spend $100 million in India to boost video games, esports, and the IT industry.