Player Unknown's Battleground
"PUBG Mobile" along with 117 other Chinese apps were banned in India on September 8. (Photo: whelsko/flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0))

In an attempt to remove the 'Chinese tag' to its name, PUBG Corporation withdrew its franchise partnership with Tencent Games and is apparently working on possible solutions so it could release "PUBG Mobile" in India in the future.

Fans got excited when a LinkedIn job listing went viral and immediately assumed that the ban on "PUBG Mobile" could be lifted soon, paving the way for the return of the hit mobile shooter title in the country. The job listing advertises that the company is looking for a Corporate Development Division Manager responsible for developing "an overall strategy for mergers and acquisitions and investments with [a] focus on the Indian market."

The job post also requires the candidate to support the setup process for PUBG India with guidance from Krafton, the video game holding company that owns PUBG Corporation. Some fans considered this as an indication of the possible return of "PUBG Mobile" in India. However, the job description only mentions PUBG and not "PUBG Mobile."

It is worth mentioning that although the Indian government banned the mobile game in the county, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," which is playable on gaming consoles and PC, is still available for download and compatible on its gaming platforms. It is possible that the job listing is the company's way of strengthening the presence of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" and not "PUBG Mobile" in India.

The new manager could also be PUBG Corporation's leverage to invest in the eSports industry in the country. On September 8, the Indian government banned the mobile shooter game along with 117 other apps. Since then, the game has been unavailable for download in Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

While the ban restricts users from downloading or playing "PUBG Mobile," there are reports that the battle royale title is still being played in India despite the ban. A recent report from Money Control revealed that users who were able to install the game before it was removed from the app stores could still play the game. The report also claimed that it tried downloading the APK file from the game's official site to test the claim, which turned out accurate.

Before its ban in India, "PUBG Mobile" has a vast user base and has more than 175 million downloads. The Indian government previously noted that the ban on the mobile shooter game is due to its violent nature. So far, there is no official statement from the government yet about the possible lifting of the ban.