Has the ban On BGMI( PUBG) affected esports in India?

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, developed by KRAFTON, is one of the most played video games worldwide and without a doubt the finest Battleground game in India.

After getting banned in India earlier in September 2022, the game made a comeback with a new title and policies which was tailored for the Indian audience. The game, which was popular among Indian gamers and a mainstay of the nation’s mobile esports scene, was recently outlawed in India again due to security concerns. The esports ecosystem in the area, which was primarily based on the success of the game, was devastated by the news. Let’s look a the impact of the ban on mobile esports in India.

The impact of PUBG Mobile ban on Indian eSports 

One of the biggest games, BGMI was banned by the Indian Government in September. This news did not only shock the players but the entire Indian esports community. The game had a huge fan base in India. After the banned, the Indian esports scene suffered a huge loss overall. PUBG was known to be a huge pinnacle of Indian esports and attracted many sponsors and investors globally.

Many sponsors including Fnatic, Nova Esports, and Galaxy Racer had begun to work in India. Thus, this game led India to grow globally and reach out to big sponsors and investors as well. Due to the ban on the game, the PUBG Mobile Pro League had to exclude the Indian Teams. So, the fans are quite overwhelmed by this news.

Viewership drop after PUBG’s Ban 

The ban put Tencent gaming at a loss since many talented and passionate players in India looked after the new updates. Not only the players in India are at loss but there has been a fatal decrease in viewership from 133 million to 61.2 million after the ban of the game, according to Esports charts.

The viewership further decreased to 48.2 million in late October, as Indian teams were absent from many major international events. Since top esports teams from India keep missing events due to the ban, Indian viewers have started looking at esports titles to play.

The company, on the other hand, is also suffering significant market losses as a result of one of its most popular games being banned in the area. After the game was taken down from the play store and app store, Krafton’s stock price fell by 9%. While PUBG Corp. is trying everything in its power to keep the esports up and running, the ride ahead appeared tough for the company.

Image Credit: Krafton/Tencent