Krafton’s PUBG Mobile replacement for India, Battlegrounds Mobile India hasn’t even been given an official release date yet, but a prominent politician in the country is already taking aim at it as a vehicle to collect data on citizens for foreign governments, including China.
Arunachal Pradesh Member of Assembly (MLA) Ninong Ering has sent a letter requesting that India Prime Minister Narendra Modi ban the game before it is ever released. Ering made the announcement about the letter via Twitter:
Requested @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji to not allow Chinese deception #BattlegroundsMobileIndia. It is a big threat to security of India & privacy of our citizens and a way to circumvent & disregard our laws.@AmitShah #IndiaBanBattlegrounds #NationFirst #AatmaNirbharBharat @ANI pic.twitter.com/H8nzUJ4aRk
— Ninong Ering (@ninong_erring) May 22, 2021
In the letter, he points out that Krafton has hired former employees of Tencent, and therefore is still somehow serving as a pawn of the Chinese government, despite the fact that Krafton has launched a division dedicated to India that stores its data within the country. He is calling for a ban on the game in India similar to what happened to PUBG Mobile in September of 2020.
Krafton has not publicly commented on the letter. Battlegrounds Mobile India was announced last month by Krafton but still does not have an official release date (though some influencers in India claim it will release by the end of the month).
While it’s not officially confirmed, it is expected that tournament organizer and gaming company NODWIN Gaming will play a major role in the new game’s esports development; Nodwin received a $22.5M USD investment from Krafton in March.
(Photo : KRAFTON)
