After Facing PUBG Ban In India, South Korean Firm Breaks Ties With China’s Tencent Games

PUBG Mobile Ban in India: After India banned viral gaming app Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) in the wake of Chinese incursion attempts in Indian territory at Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh, the South Korean firm that owns the game has broken its ties with the Chinese company that had the right to distribute the game in India.

New Delhi: After the Indian government's latest digital strike against China in which it banned another 118 Chinese mobile applications including the viral gaming app Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), the South Korean PUBG Corporation has broken its ties with China-based Tencent Games which distributes the game in India. According to media reports, PUBG Corporation will now take on all publishing responsibilities within India.

"In light of recent developments, PUBG Corporation has made the decision to no longer authorize the PUBG Mobile franchise to Tencent Games in India. As the company explores ways to provide its own PUBG experience for India in the near future, it is committed to doing so by sustaining a localized and healthy gameplay environment for its fans. ," the company said in a report by IANS. The report says that the company 'hopes to work hand-in-hand with the Indian government to find a solution.'



PUBG is not entirely Chinese, the game was developed and published a subsidiary of South Korean video game company Bluehole. After it started gaining popularity Chinese company Tencent joined with Bluehole to handle distribution and market it in China.

PUBG has a vast fanbase in the south Asian region, including India and Pakistan, and is one of the most loved games of current times. The mobile-based game now has more than 600 million downloads and 50 million active players globally, not including the Chinese mainland where a rebranded version of the game is called 'Game for Peace'.

The action to ban the apps came after the fresh Chinese incursion attempts in Indian territory at Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh. India has banned altogether 224 Chinese apps so far including popular ones like TikTok, WeChat, and UC Browser which had a huge user base in India. India has banned altogether 224 Chinese apps so far including popular ones like TikTok, WeChat, and UC Browser which had a huge user base in India.

The first digital strike by India was done in the wake of the June 15 clash in which as many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the Galwan Valley. After several days of standoff, India in June end banned the first 59 apps of China including TikTok and We Chat. A month later India added 47 more Chinese apps to the list.