In an unexpected turn of events that occurred today, PUBG Mobile India’s official Facebook page announced the termination of all services and user access across India, to PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite, starting from 30th October 2020. This announcement came on the back of the Indian government’s decision to ban PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite on 2nd September, 2020. The game was banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2009.
Further elaborating, PUBG Mobile India said that all the publishing rights for PUBG Mobile will be returned the owner of the PUBG Intellectual property – PUBG Corporation. PUBG Mobile also stressed on the fact that protecting user data is their top priority, and that they have always complied with the data protection laws of the country.
PUBG Mobile to shut down all servers and access in India
PUBG Corporation recently also announced that they are withdrawing their partnership with Tencent, and that they will work with the Indian government to look for a quick resolution. They seemingly want to comply with all the existing laws in the country, and will take complete charge of operations.
Furthermore, they also stressed on the fact they were looking for viable options to bring PUBG Mobile back to the country.
This claim was backed up by their recent LikendIn job posting, in which they were looking for a Corporate Development Division Manager, for running operations in India.
According to speculations, this might be the requirement for operating PUBG Mobile in India, post the launch of the game’s Indian version. This news provided a ray of hope to all PUBG Mobile players and fans across the country, who were left completely shocked by the game’s ban. The official Facebook post read,
“Dear Fans, To comply with the interim order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology dated September 2, 2020, Tencent Games will terminate all service and access for users in India to PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik and PUBG MOBILE Lite (together, “PUBG Mobile”) on October 30, 2020. The rights to publish PUBG MOBILE in India will be returned to the owner of the PUBG intellectual property. Protecting user data has always been a top priority and we have always complied with applicable data protection laws and regulations in India. All users’ gameplay information is processed in a transparent manner, as disclosed in our privacy policy. We deeply regret this outcome, and sincerely thank you for your support and love for PUBG MOBILE in India.”
PUBG Mobile has been developed by Krafton Game Union, which is a subsidiary of the South-Korean company Bluehole Incorporated. The publishing rights for the game in India were previously held by Tencent Games. However, following the Indian government’s decision to ban the game in the country, Bluehole Incorporated cut all ties with Tencent games, and decideed to take the publishing rights of the game into their own hands.
