The ongoing disputes between India and China have hit Indian gamers. The country's government passed a decree with which it bans over 100 Chinese apps for use within India's borders. As a direct consequence, PUBG Mobile is no longer playable in India.
India Takes the War Against China to Gaming
You might be forgiven for not being up to date with the skirmishes between India and China that have been going on for the past few months. It's not like 2020 is short on minor and major disasters. But yes, the two most populous countries in the world have been threatening peace in Asia with some military and political aggression since May this year.
The latest act in this play is the Indian government's decision to ban over a hundred Chinese apps from use in the country. These also include games: some bigger, some smaller. One of these games that got banned is PUBG Mobile, the mobile version of the first smash hit battle royale. Why is PUBG, a game developed and published by a South Korean company, involved in this, you might ask? Simple: the mobile version is not developed and published by a South Korean company.
PUBG Mobile is at the hands of Tencent Games, a highly controversial Chinese company. Controversies aside, the problem here is Tencent being Chinese. India doesn't like China currently and that's a problem for gamers that play games developed in the latter.
Another such game, once again under the hat of Tencent, is Call of Duty Mobile. Breathe now, CoD has not been banned. At least for now. It being under Chinese guidance though, it's hard to see it becoming the democratic exception to India's autocratic approach.
We all hope we won't have to, but be sure that in case India does something to our precious Call of Duty Mobile, EarlyGame will be there to let you know.
