After India’s government blocked TikTok and 58 other apps from China, the ban has now been expanded to include 47 applications, which are considered as clones of those banned ones. At the same time, the Indian government is reviewing 275 more Chinese apps for violations of data protection regulations and national security concerns with the help of people who are familiar with the process. Now the reports from known news sources highlight that it may affect our favorite Battle Royale game – PUBG Mobile.
The now blocked apps include several alternative offers of the already blocked apps. They were offered “despite the existing ban”, the newspaper quoted a spokesman for the responsible ministry for electronics and information technology. The ban could still be expanded significantly because the government is currently checking hundreds of apps of Chinese origin or even only with connections with China. This list includes some very popular apps along with PUBG Mobile.
By far the most popular app on the list is obviously PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds), which is marketed by Tencent Games. India is the most important market for PUBG since most of the Indian youth is a fan of this game. So, the future of PUBG in India is still at stake. There are also applications from the Chinese groups Alibaba and ByteDance as well as 14 from Xiaomi. It could not be yet predicted how the test will end, everyone could be banned, only a few or none at all. At the same time, work is being carried out to formalize the ban process.
The expansion of the app ban and the report on further audits suggest that India’s conflict with China is not about to ease. The government justified the previous ban of 59 apps by defending India’s sovereignty, security, and privacy concerns. China was not specifically mentioned, but the connection was unmistakable. At the time of the ban, a border conflict with China that had been going on for decades had once again escalated.
Pakistan had banned PUBG in the country at the beginning of July but now it has gone for #UnBanPUBG, which was trending on social media for long. If the Indian government decides to ban PUBG in India then the same situations and protests are expected. But we have faith in PUBG Corporation so, they may come up with the best solution to offer PUBG Mobile in India.