Battlegrounds Mobile India (PUBG Mobile India) is projected to benefit not just India’s online gaming environment, but also the riches of millions of players who have created lucrative professions around it.
Adi Sawant nicknamed Dynamo, India’s top PUBG player and gaming influencer, was shocked when the game was suddenly banned in September 2020, reducing his audience from 70,000 to a few thousand.
Dynamo’s streams have already surpassed 55,000 views and 130,000 likes before the game’s debut, courtesy of Krafton Inc.’s return with an Indian PUBG “avatar” named Battlegrounds Mobile India (BMI).
According to experts, the introduction of BMI is likely to enhance not just India’s gaming environment, but also the fortunes of millions of digital players like Sawant who have made a living off the game.
BMI is expected to gather up to 100 million downloads in its first four to six months of release, according to Piyush Kumar, the founder, and CEO of game streaming platform Rooter.
If a consequence, “there is increased interest from companies for the game, and as players’ numbers continue to rise, the industry will see some big brand sponsorships coming in very soon,” Sawant said.
Industry insiders claim that, in addition to gaming-related corporations like Disney, Marvel, and Republic of Gamers, non-endemic sponsors including Flipkart, Proctor & Gamble, Nvidia, Zotac, Gigabyte, Red Bull, and Paytm have begun expressing interest in the field for advertising, boosting players’ revenues significantly.
According to Trinity Gaming, a talent management agency that manages a portfolio of India’s top 200 gamers, most businesses have begun investing in influencers as a result of the lockdown, which has prevented them from advertising in traditional ways.
The popularity of PUBG, together with the outbreak of the epidemic, spawned India’s gaming industry. According to statistics supplied by analytics firm Sensor Tower, it garnered over 185 million downloads in India, representing for 25% of its worldwide downloads, and raked in over $41 million in player spending.
To also be certain, Krafton’s new release may encounter competitive pressure of Garena’s Free Fire, Activision’s Call of Duty, and Riot Games’ Valorant in the second coming of PUBG.
“The PUBG ban created a sudden hole for the whole gaming environment for close to 15-20 days,” Kumar of Rooter stated.
PUBG To Get Banned?
According to sources, former Union Minister and current Arunachal Pradesh MLA Ninong Ering wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to propose a ban on the forthcoming game Battlegrounds Mobile India.
In his letter, he claims that the majority of Krafton’s India staff are Tencent workers and that Battlegrounds Mobile India poses the same “threat to India’s security and privacy” issues as PUBG Mobile. It would be fascinating to see whether the letter catches the attention of the authorities and whether Battlegrounds Mobile India follows in the footsteps of PUBG Mobile.
