PUBG Mobile still available for download 24 hours after ban

The central government announced on Wednesday that it has banned the popular online games PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite along with 118 other Chinese applications. However, more than 24 hours after the ban, they are still available for download on Google Playstore and Apple app store. Players who already have the games installed on their devices can play it like before.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had banned PUBG Mobile and the other apps stating they were engaged in activities "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".

However, the IT Ministry's ban on PUBG Mobile has still not come into effect. Any smartphone or tablet user who has the necessary hardware for downloading the game can easily access it from Google's Play Store or Apple's App store. Users who had downloaded the game before the ban are not facing any difficulty in playing the game either. All servers are working as usual. Users who have never played the game before can make a new account on it and start playing. Tencent Games has made no change to account for the ban yet. However, this does not mean that the game would forever remain available for download from the app stores. Even TikTok, which was banned back in June, was available for several hours on app stores after its ban.

PUBG Mobile Lite is also available for download on Play Store and App Store. Not just PUBG Mobile but other Chinese apps which were banned on September 2 are still available on app stores, more than 24 hours after the ban was imposed.

So far, the central government has banned 224 Chinese apps within the last three months. The Centre had first banned 59 Chinese apps on June 29. This was days after the violent conflict between the Indian Army and People's Liberation Army of China in the Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on June 15 this year. This was followed by similar action against 49 more apps.

Also read: PUBG ban: What game should you play now? Here are 5 options'

Also read: Why India banned PUBG Mobile

Also Read: PUBG banned in India, but you can still play the game; here's how