Is PUBG Mobile Chinese Enough to Get Banned in India? Find Out Here

PUBG Mobile is one of the most played games in India as of now. It is so popular that its now part of the popular media in India with PUBG Mobile Youtube streamers becoming e-celebs in the country. A recent ban imposed by the Government of India on 59 Chinese apps to protect the privacy of the users has left many of the players wondering if PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile ban can happen as well and more importantly is PUBG Mobile a Chinese app?

Before we answer if PUBG Mobile is a Chinese app or not there are certain things that need to be made clear.

• The mobile game is not the same as the PC game.

  PUBG or Playersunkown battleground was created, developed, and published by Bluehole which is a South Korean game developer. Bluehole made the original PC Game PUBG which inspired a slew of games on smartphones. PUBG Mobile was inspired by the PC Game of the same name. PUBG Mobile was developed by Tencent and not by Bluehole. Tencent games created the PUBG Mobile version after getting inspired by the PUBG PC game.

• Is PUBG Mobile a Chinese game?

  Yes. PUBG Mobile is owned by Tencent games which is a subsidiary of Tencent Holdings Ltd. which is a Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company. Tencent developed the PUBG Mobile game and is also the publisher of the game in India. Many people have confused Bluehole’s participation in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile. Bluehole did not create PUBG Mobile or PUBG Mobile lite or PUBG Lite PC. Tencent games created these games and have part ownership of these games and games like Fortnite. Tencent games also own League of Legends.

• Can PUBG Mobile be banned in India?

  Many players are left with the question after the recent move by the Indian Government which banned 59 Chinese apps. Tencent is a Chinese company and PUBG Mobile is published by them in India. There is a possibility that the Indian Government can ban PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile in India. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile has previously also seen something similar to a ban in India when there was news floating around that many young players of the game were neglecting their studies and playing PUBG. To which, Tencent games responded by creating a time limit on the game for younger players.

• If not PUBG Mobile then what?

  Many players want to know if there is a game that they can play if and when PUBG Mobile is banned in India. Garena Free Fire is a great alternative for many players. Garena is a game publisher based in Singapore which is the publisher of Free Fire in India and many other countries. That being said PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile can still function in India if the publisher is changed from Tencent. What many players may not know is that Garena already is the publisher of PUBG Lite PC game in many countries. Even Call of Duty Mobile which is published by Activision in India also has Garena as its publisher in many countries.

• Who is the Owner of PUBG Mobile?

  PUBG Mobile is owned by Bluehole and Tencent games in a partnership. Tencent games were the main developer of PUBG Mobile while Bluehole was the company that developed PUBG PC. There is a reason why players see the name of Tencent games when they turn on the game. Tencent has developed and published PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile on Google Playstore and on the iOS app store. PUBG Mobile is one of the most profitable games for Tencent. Tencent games also have a stake in bluehole. They own 1.5% of bluehole shares. Tencent has also shown interest in acquiring Bluehole.

• What is a game publisher?

  According to Wikipedia “A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer.” So Tencent games, for example, have developed PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile along with Bluehole. Game publishers often develop games or finance their development. Since video game publishers often finance the development of games to external developers they pay royalties to those external developers. So yes, PUBG Mobile earns money for Tencent games which is a subsidiary of Tencent Entertainment which is a part of the Tencent group.

Tencent Games is the largest video game company in the world and either develop or publishes games all over the world. Call of Duty mobile was created by TiMi studios which are owned by Tencent. Tencent games provide Fortnite in China to players instead of Epic games. League of Legends is owned by Tencent now. Bluehole is a South Korean company but Tencent has a 1.5 percent stake in the company and has always been interested in acquiring Bluehole completely. Tencent Games is so big that its almost impossible to escape them. They have a stake in every major game from PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile to PUBG Pc to Fortnite to League of Legends.
It’s still not clear if the government will ban PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile in India but if they do ban it then there are no other good non-Chinese alternatives of the game.