PUBG Mobile the hugely famous battle royale game was banned back in September for its ties with china, the game was banned by the Indian government on account of security and privacy.
The growth of the PUBGM was quick and reached rural India in no time, every one who had a mobile phone knew someone who played PUBG. It had continued to grow thanks to internet penetration and mobile accessibility.
The game was at its panicle when banned, Orange Rock had just placed 2nd in an International tournament- The PUBG Mobile World League. The teams had got to a point that they were eying to win the next PMPL and PMCO but the ban hit.
Games that replaced PUBG during ban
The 2 biggest competitve games that took over PUBG’s void were COD Mobile and Free Fire. These FPS games which also have battle royale mode were bound to get popular after the ban.
Free fire hosted the Free Fire India Championship 2020 with a prize pool of 50 lakhs, this move made lots of players jump to free fire. The games mechanics are considered to be very similar to that of PUBG by lots of players.
Growth of other games
But over the course as things settled we saw that players leaned more towards COD Mobile. Multiplayer tournaments on platforms like gaming monk and E-war took off in popularity, as players adapted to the faster paced Multiplayer rounds mode of CODM. A survey by CMR India report shows that 67% of Pubg mobile players have now shifted to Call of Duty Mobile. Free Fire on the other hand grew by 54%.
But a large part of the PUBG fan base remained loyal to the game. Players found ways around every restriction to play the game in one way or another.
Downloading different versions of the game, downloading and updating through APK files and then using VPN to play the game had come to become a norm among hard core PUBG players. Competitive scrims around the game have continued as casuals also went back to playing PUBG having tried out other games.
Another Casual game that made a mark during the 2 month ban was Among Us. The game was played on all platforms and by all age groups, though not a competitve game players did look to this game for time pass during the ban on PUBG.
PUBG mobile slipped to 3rd place as the higest earning game worldwide in October, but its unlikely that this was directly the impact of the ban.
Will PUBG return to its former glory?
Yes, the game has a very loyal fan base that have been playing the game anyways even during the ban. Though some players who have gained footing in other games like CODM and Free Fire would likely continue to play them.
PUBG Corp. have already announced plans to hold PUBGM esports league in India. The official press report stated that “It that actively supports to establish itself as the largest esports event in India in all aspects, including participating teams, prize money, and competition size.”
They also disclosed that they will be investing over $100 million in partnership with Krafton and will be promoting the establishment of a branch office in India. They also said they would hire over 100 employees with expertise in different areas, including – game development, business, esports, and more.
With PUBG Corp’s upcoming plans we could see the game even surpass its former glory.
