PUBG Mobile will make its return to India with a new avatar, parent company PUBG Corporation said on Thursday.
The South Korean gaming firm was plotting its return to the world’s second largest internet market two months after its marquee title was banned by the country.
Though confirmed, the creators of the game haven’t set an official date for the release of the game in India and said that “more information on the launch of PUBG MOBILE INDIA will be released at a later date.”Additionally, the corporate said it plans to make investment worth $100 million in India, one among the biggest markets of PUBG Mobile, to cultivate the local video game, esports, entertainment, and IT industries ecosystems. “Thanks to overwhelming community enthusiasm for PUBG esports in India, the corporate also plans to make investments by hosting India-exclusive esports events, which can feature the largest tournaments, the largest prize pools, and the best tournament productions,” it said in a statement, adding that it also plans to hire over 100 employees in the country.
New Delhi has banned over 200 apps with links to China — including PUBG Mobile and TikTok — in recent months over cybersecurity concerns. To allay concerns of the Indian government, PUBG Mobile has cut ties with Chinese internet giant, Tencent, which is its publisher in many markets, in India. The company last week announced that it had inked a global deal with Microsoft to move all PUBG Mobile data — as well as data from its other properties — to Azure.
In a statement on Thursday, PUBG Corporation said, “privacy and security of Indian player data being a top priority for PUBG Corporation, the corporate will conduct regular audits and verifications on the storage systems holding Indian users’ personally identifiable information to reinforce security and make sure that their data is safely managed.”
Prior to the ban in early September, PUBG Mobile had amassed over 50 million monthly active users in India, more than any other mobile game in the country. It helped establish a complete ecosystem of esports organisations and even a industry of streamers that made the most of its spectator sport-friendly gameplay, said Rishi Alwani, a long-time analyst of Indian gaming market and publisher of stories outlet The Mako Reactor.