PUBG Mobile India is still fighting its ban as indigenous clone FAU-G makes its debut

• PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile India still does not have permission to operate in India, even as its homegrown rival FAU-G makes its debut with pre-registration now open on Google Play.
• PUBG Mobile is registered in India under the Ministry of Commerce and without the reversal of the ban instituted by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), it is unable to launch.
• A report by InsideSport indicates that the company has been trying to set up a meeting with the departments but has not been successful so far.
  

It has been nearly two weeks that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) was poised to make its return to India — the game’s largest market — after the government banned the app amid border tensions with China.

Despite the long wait and heightened anticipation, it seems the PUBG Corporation doesn’t have the requisite permissions to restart operations in India. “Any banned entity can’t operate just by floating a new company. This even TikTok or anyone else can do. They will have to get permissions from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to operate once again in India,” sources told InsideSport.

It reports that PUBG Mobile has requested a meeting with MeitY to resolve the regulatory issues, and not for the first time, but is yet to be granted an audience. “In the current circumstances it will not be easy for PUBG to relaunch themselves before Jan-Feb next year and that too will depend on the stance of the government,” sources at the ministry disclosed.

As PUBG Mobile struggles to make its comeback, the Akshay Kumar-backed indigenous battle royale game, Fearless and United Guards (FAU-G) is making its debut on Google Play. The co-founder of nCore games, Vishal Gondal, claims that the idea for FAU-G was always in the works but gained limelight when PUBG was banned back in September.

Once FAU-G goes live, its first episode will be called ‘Galwan Valley’ based on the clash between Indian soldiers and troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

PUBG Mobile India caught in the middle
PUBG Mobile may not have permission from MeitY, but it has officially registered itself as a new entity within India, according to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs database. However, it is pertinent to note that PUBG Mobile only registered on November 21 — a day after the date floated for its launch (November 20).

As the company tries to navigate its way through red tape, fans of the battle royale game in India aren’t pleased by the company’s deafening silence.

Many have taken to Twitter to express their frustration, including reaching out to Microsoft Azure, the cloud service enlisted to host PUBG Mobile India. Azure has since gone on the record to say that they don’t have any updates on when the game will launch and that the players should keep an eye on the official website.


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