Indian Gamers Enjoy 'Chicken Dinner' as PUBG Escapes Chinese App Ban List

Millions of gamers in India were served "chicken dinner" on Monday night after the Indian government decided to slash 59 Chinese mobile applications.

The Indian government banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country. The list of apps that have been banned also includes Helo, Likee, Cam Scanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call, Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein.

However, what confused everyone was: Why has PUBG not been banned?

The PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or PUBG was developed by a man named Brendan Greene, who hails from Ireland.

The massively popular multiplayer game, a staple in Indian households, did not find a mention in the long list of 59 Chinese apps which were collectively termed as "engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of state and public order."

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has invoked its power under section 69A of the Indian Information Technology Act, 2000, which specifies "Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public".

This was when Indian gamers furiously searched for PUBG in the list and fortunately for them, the gaming app was pretty much intact for the loyal gamers to go back to another day.

Also Read: Is PUBG a Chinese App? India-China Face-Off is Now Testing the Loyalty of Indian Gamers

In 2017, there were reports that PUBG could get banned in China because it was too violent and bloody and went against the cultural values of the country. In fact, the government offered PUBG lovers a state-approved alternative of the game, Force for Peace.

This is where the Chinese company Tencent stepped in.

Tencent Games, which was part of Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings, offered to develop a mobile version of the game, PUBG Mobile, after changing the format a bit. Soon after the India-China face off, Indians also googled to see how much of PUBG Tencent actually owns, in an attempt to understand exactly how Chinese the game is. For those wondering, Tencent has a 10% stakehold in Bluehole.

In India, however, people welcomed the game with open arms. Soon enough, that seemed to be all that people talked about! In 2018, a survey carried out by Quartz showed that 62% of the respondents out of over 1,000 individuals said that they were hooked to the game. The survey also showed that the main reason why Indians loved PUBG was that it was better than other available games while some respondents admitted that they decided to give the game a try because everyone was talking about it.

Here's the actual list of Chinese apps that have come under the scanner of the Indian government:

TikTok, Shareit, Kwai, UC Browser, Baidu map, Shein, Clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browser, Virus Cleaner, APUS Browser, ROMWE, Club Factory, Newsdog, Beauty Plus, WeChat, UC News, QQ Mail, Weibo, Xender, QQ Music, QQ Newsfeed, Bigo Live, SelfieCity, Mail Master, Parallel Space, Mi Video Call – Xiaomi, WeSync, ES File Explorer, Viva Video – QU Video Inc, Meitu, Vigo Video, New Video Status, DU Recorder, Vault- Hide, Cache Cleaner DU App studio, DU Cleaner, DU Browser, Hago Play With New Friends, Cam Scanner, Clean Master – Cheetah Mobile, Wonder Camera, Photo Wonder, QQ Player, We Meet, Sweet Selfie, Baidu Translate, Vmate, QQ International, QQ Security Center, QQ Launcher, U Video, V fly Status Video, Mobile Legends, DU Privacy.

The move comes days after twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in clashes with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation between India and China in over five decades.