Updated: 04 Sep 2020, 01:24 PM IST
For tens of millions of Indian gamers, Tencent’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) video game was a welcome distraction from the coronavirus pandemic. Then the Indian government said it was pulling the plug.
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PUBG, part of the “battle royale” genre in which a group of players fight one another until only a single combatant is left alive, became a casualty of geopolitics on Wednesday when the Indian government said it was banning it, along with over a hundred other Chinese apps, as tensions with Beijing escalated.
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3/5
Hurting China where it hurts
The ban is the latest move against Chinese companies in India amid a months-long standoff over a disputed border but the timing and the target were particularly tough for young people. They have been using the game to stay in touch with friends while schools and colleges are shut to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
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4/5
A distraction from COVID
PUBG’s interactive features allow gamers to communicate with one another using text and voice, and users say these make it a unique mobile game in a country where millions of gamers cannot afford expensive gaming consoles and broadband connections.
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India is PUBG’s biggest market by users, and according to analytics firm SensorTower, accounts for 29% of the app’s total downloads. The ban is another blow for Tencent whose WeChat app was also outlawed by New Delhi in June, following a border skirmish that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Tencent’s other flagship game – Arena of Valor – is now also banned in India.
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