Technology
Rechristened as Battlegrounds Mobile India, the country’s favourite battle royale title has returned — albeit in early access for now — to its largest market after a nine-month-long government-imposed ban. Gadgets 360 deputy news editor Veer Arjun Singh and deputy video head Cyrus John — both PUBG Mobile veterans — join host Akhil Arora to discuss the new avatar of PUBG Mobile. We talk about the lack of India-specific introductions, the problems with being India-only, the broken friend lists, and how Battlegrounds Mobile India is essentially old wine in an existing (green) bottle. Read: Battlegrounds Mobile India first impressions We also delve into what made PUBG Mobile such a rage in India, the early success of Battlegrounds Mobile India, and why it has (likely) triumphed over global battle-royale king Fortnite. Lastly, we touch upon controversies new and old — and how Krafton could have handled the launch better, and why the ban (naturally) helped PUBG Mobile’s competition in India. Read: BGMI pinged Tencent server only ‘to enable game features’, Krafton says Follow Gadgets 360 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Write to us at podcast@gadgets360.com Chapters Intro (00:00) It’s the same (Chinese) game (00:21) Why PUBG Mobile took off (04:54) Bans are great for some (07:53) 5 million already (09:26) Missing friends (12:04) India-only (13:48) The controversies (15:17) No serious attempt (16:56) The China servers (20:37) How gamers feel (22:29) Where’s Fortnite? (25:15) Outro (29:35)