The Indian government on Wednesday (2/9) yesterday, held a press release to announce that it had blocked 118 applications that were considered dangerous. And games popular ones like PUBG Mobile are also affected!
PUBG Mobile, which is officially listed on Google Play as PUBG Mobile Nordic Map: Livik, has been banned together with PUBG Mobile Lite. India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology itself decided to ban the application, citing harm to sovereignty and integrity, defence, state security and public order.
According to reports AFK Gaming, the Indian government said it had received many complaints from various sources, including reports of abuse of some mobile applications. The application has been banned for allegedly stealing and secretly transmitting user data in an unauthorized manner, to server located outside India.
This PUBG Mobile blocking action is considered to have severe consequences in the industry games and esports, which is developing in the country. Moreover, its popularity makes the entire ecosystem, from team owners, organizations, tournament organizers, content creators, streamer, influencer, and professional players, growing. India alone became the country with the highest number of players for the title, with over 175 million downloads. The PUBG Mobile ban is now threatening the livelihoods of many, and will have a huge impact on the industry esports.
The move by the Indian government is surprising, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently spoke out in support of the industry games, encourage the creation of games based on Indian culture. Published official statement on the site discuss industrial potential games India, a category that also includes video games.
The statement chooses video games as an area of focus, recognizing the need for “hackathons” involving youth and students, to drive innovation in the industry games country. Modi also stressed that India should take advantage of the huge potential in this area, and lead the sector games international digital by developing games inspired by Indian culture and folklore.
Meanwhile, aninews published a list of 118 applications that weretire by the Indian government which also includes a number of mobile games. These include Dawn of Isles, Warpath, Mafia City, Arena of Valor, Soul Hunters, Mobile Legends: Pocket, and MARVEL Super War.
It is known, in June 2020, India also blocked 59 applications from China and was considered a very controversial step. Including platform share videos, Tik Tok. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Clash of Kings are also included in the ranks.