- PUBG Mobile announces the termination, as of 30 October 2020, of all servers and consumer access in India.
- The decision came after a call from the government to ban the game on 2 September 2020.
PUBG Mobile India’s official Facebook page confirmed the termination of all services and user access in India, to PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite, as of 30 October 2020, in an abrupt turn of events that took place today. This announcement came on the back of the Indian government’s decision on September 2, 2020 to ban PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite. Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2009 banned the game.
PUBG Mobile India further clarified that all publication rights for PUBG Mobile will be returned to the holders of PUBG Intellectual Property-PUBG Company. PUBG Mobile also emphasised that its highest priority is to protect consumer data, and that it has always complied with the country’s data security laws.
PUBG Corporation has also recently announced that they are withdrawing their relationship with Tencent, and that they will try to find a swift settlement with the Indian government. They seem to want to comply with all of the country’s current rules, and will take full care of operations.
They also stressed the fact that they were searching for viable options to bring PUBG Mobile back to the country.
This argument was backed by their recent LikendIn work posting for running operations in India, in which they were looking for a Business Development Division Manager.
This might be the requirement for operating PUBG Mobile in India, according to speculation, after the launch of the Indian version of the game. This news provided all PUBG Mobile players and fans across the country with a ray of hope, who were left completely shocked by the ban on the game. The official posting on Facebook read,
Dear Fans, To comply with the provisional order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology dated 2 September 2020, on 30 October 2020, Tencent Games will terminate all service and access to PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map for users in India: Livik and PUBG MOBILE Lite (together, ‘PUBG Mobile’). The right to publish PUBG MOBILE in India will be returned to the intellectual property owner of PUBG. It has always been a top priority to protect user data and we have always complied with applicable data protection laws and regulations in India. The gameplay information of all users is processed transparently, as disclosed in our privacy policy. We deeply regret this result, and sincerely thank you for your support and love in India for PUBG MOBILE.
Krafton Game Union, which is a subsidiary of the South Korean company Bluehole Incorporated, has developed PUBG Mobile. Tencent Games previously owned the publishing rights for the game in India. Bluehole Incorporated, however, cut all ties to Tencent games after the Indian government’s decision to ban the game in the region, and decided to take the game’s publishing rights into their own hands.
