India has been on a streak when it comes to banning Chinese apps and PUBG Mobile could soon find itself among them, despite the game's popularity in the country.
PUBG Mobile is enjoying massive popularity in India as this country alone amounts to 175 million downloads for the title, which is 24 per cent of total downloads.
That impressive number does not appear to stand in the government's push to ban another batch of Chinese apps, following the first wave which included the likes of high profile apps like TikTok.
Namely, the Indian government posted a list that included an additional 275 apps that will be examined for potential violations of national security and user privacy. This list includes PUBG Mobile, which despite the aforementioned number of downloads is potentially not even the biggest name under scrutiny.
As Niko Partners noted, the number of downloads and monthly users amounts to $2-3 million in revenue each month. There is no doubt that losing the Indian market would be a huge blow to PUBG Mobile but keep in mind that the app is currently under, let's say microscope, which still doesn't mean it will get banned.
Should the ban come to pass, however, it would also severely impact the esports scene as the competitions would no longer appeal to almost a quarter of the audience who would be no doubt rooting for local teams.
According to a quotation acquired by Economic Times , the government may ban none, some or all apps from the aforementioned list.