PUBG Corporation breaks ties with Tencent Games in India
What's the story
PUBG Corporation, the original developer of PUBG, has announced the decision to break association with China's Tencent Games in India. The move comes over a week after the Indian government banned PUBG Mobile and 117 other mostly Chinese apps over concerns of personal user data being shared outside the boundaries of the country and posing a threat to national security. Here's more about it.
Development
Tencent no longer authorized to publish PUBG MOBILE
Just recently, PUBG Corporation, which owns IP rights to PUBG Mobile and PUBG MOBILE Lite, issued a statement saying that Tencent Games will no longer be the publisher of the battle royale game or its counterparts in India. It said, "In light of recent developments, PUBG Corporation has made the decision to no longer authorize the PUBG MOBILE franchise to Tencent Games in India."
Structure
PUBG Corp. developed game, Tencent built its mobile version
PUBG Corp. had developed the original PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) for PC and consoles, while Tencent Games, which bought equity in the company, developed its mobile versions. The Chinese gaming mammoth first launched the mobile iteration of the game in its home country and then followed it up with a global release, bringing one of the most popular mobile games into the fore.
Plan
Now, PUBG Corp. will take the publishing responsibilities
As part of the latest change, PUBG Corp. said it will be publishing future versions of PUBG MOBILE in India. "PUBG Corporation will take on all publishing responsibilities," it said, adding that "As the company explores ways to provide its own PUBG experience for India in near future, it is committed to doing so by sustaining a localized and healthy gameplay environment for fans."
Plan
Plan to work with government to get app reinstated
In addition to dissociating with Tencent, PUBG Corp. also said it understands and respects measures taken by the Indian government. It said "privacy and security of player data is a top priority" and expressed willingness "to work hand-in-hand with the Indian government to find a solution that will allow gamers to once again drop into the battlegrounds while being fully compliant with Indian laws."
Possibility
Will this mark PUBG MOBILE's return to India?
While the move gives PUBG Corp., which is based in South Korea and a subsidiary of Bluehole Studio, a reason to demand the reinstatement of PUBG MOBILE, there is no way to say whether the Indian authorities would revoke the ban on the title or not. According to Sensor Tower data, India has attributed to nearly 24% of PUBG MOBILE's all-time global downloads.