PUBG Mobile was banned in India back in 2020 during a spree of Chinese app bans in the country. While it seemed clear the game would return as an Indian variant devoid of the Tencent server issue that caused the game to get banned in the first place, today, Krafton has confirmed the game is returning to the country as Battlegrounds Mobile India.
The first trailer for Battlegrounds Mobile India can be seen above, but it is only a teaser, so no gameplay is shown. I’m not sure why developers keep announcing games with nothing to show. Still, it stands to reason that Battlegrounds Mobile India will operate in the same manner as the original PUBG. However, it’s clear that the game will have its own eSports ecosystem separate from the main title. This also means that in-game events will differ between the two titles, and that the player base will soon be divided between two versions (the Lite version was recently retired), with a third game called PUBG New State arriving later this year. That is a lot of PUBG, possibly too much.
So far, Krafton is tight-lipped on what to expect from Battlegrounds Mobile India, though a website is available, not that it details anything important. As most would assume, the game will be limited to India, it will be free-to-play, and a period for pre-registration will take place at a later date that’s yet to be revealed. Luckily TechCrunch has a few more details, and so we know the game will offer a number of restrictions to limit spending and game time for minors, and it will require a phone number of a parent or guardian to play if underage.
Of course, as development moves forward, I’m sure we’ll hear more about Battlegrounds Mobile India, its planned pre-registration period, and eventually its release date. So stay tuned, as this story is far from over.