Esports: Calls to ban PUBG replacement Battlegrounds Mobile India gathers steam on Twitter

Netizens are requesting the PUBG mobile replacement to be banned, stressing how the game is a Chinese product disguised as a Korean one. In fact, #BanBattlegroundsPUBG is one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter India currently.

Many netizens pointed that despite the developers of BGMI, Krafton, being South Korean, the Chinese company Tencent Holdings holds a major share in the company.

This comes after an MLA from Arunachal Pradesh, Ninong Ering, had written a letter to the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to ban the mobile game terming it to be a threat to the security of India and the privacy of its citizens on 22nd May 2021.

This was followed by a Member of Parliament (MP) from Telangana, Arvind Dharampuri, writing a letter to the IT Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, raising questions over the nature of the game and stating that it needs serious examinations.

The Indian government had banned the earlier existing PUBG mobile, which was published by Tencent, in September 2020 following a major border stand-off with their neighbours China.

This led to Krafton coming up with a completely new game called Battlegrounds Mobile India, specifically for the Indian market. According to rumours, the game, which is yet to be released, will hit the floors on 18th June 2021, with the pre-registrations having already begun.