Battlegrounds Mobile India, the upcoming BR title from Krafton is expected to release on June 18. While the announcement of the PUBG Mobile replacement has caused a fever pitch among players, a new controversy has roused questions on the new Krafton’s mobile game launch.
Battlegrounds Mobile India controversy: MLA seeks ban of the new Krafton game, YouTuber booked for bigoted comment
Arunachal Pradesh MLA Ninong Ering in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requested for the upcoming Battlegrounds Mobile India game’s ban in the country. The MLA taking to Twitter posted a three-letter page that cited that the game is nothing but a PUBG Mobile relaunch. Accusing the upcoming BR title’s launch to be a way to ‘sidestep the laws and deceive the government and Indian citizens,’ Ering said that Battlegrounds Mobile India is just a change in name with minor tweaks which he cites to be an ‘illusion and a trick.’ He further mentioned that Chinese-based Tencent is the second-largest stakeholder in Krafton and that Battlegrounds Mobile India Play Store URL still contains PUBG Mobile. Moreover, Krafton’s investment in Nodwin Gaming which will host PUBG on its servers brings questions of citizens’ security and privacy threat in the country.
While the MLA just posted the letter and shared his concern, within hours a PUBG Mobile YouTuber’s racist comments sparked public outcry. The YouTuber by the name Paras Official reacting to the letter passed defamatory remarks against the MLA and people of Arunachal Pradesh in his video. As per report, Paras Official was booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 124A/ 153A/ 505(2). However, the YouTuber later apologised for his statements.
Battlegrounds Mobile to get PUBG Mobile like Erangel, Sanhok map
While the government is yet to react to the MLA’s concern, Battlegrounds Mobile India’s ties with PUBG Mobile does seem possible, given the Play Store URL mentioning the original version’s name, and the addition of the popular BR title’s map to the new Krafton game. While the developer has confirmed that the Battlegrounds Mobile India will feature the Sanhok map, a recent teaser image confirms that the game will include the Erangel map as well. Notably, Krafton has just tweaked the name to ‘Erangle’ for some reason, although the pronunciation remains the same. To recall, Battlegrounds Mobile pre-registration kicked off on May 18, and those pre-registering the game via Play Store will get rewards such as Recon Mask, Recon Outfit, Celebration Expert title, and 300 AG when the game is launched.
