The decision of the Government of India to ban the smash hit game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, known popularly worldwide as PUBG mobile, on Wednesday, came as a jolt to users across the country. Following the ban, both Google and Apple have now taken down the PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite apps and are currently unavailable for download. Both apps were available for download on Google Play store and Apple App store until Thursday night, with PUBG Mobile alone showing millions of downloads. 

The Indian government issued ban orders on 118 Chinese apps on Wednesday stating they posed a "threat to national security". The decision to ban PUBG and other 117 Chinese apps came after the government issued the same order on 59 Chinese apps in June, which also included the popular ByteDance Ltd. owned short video-sharing social networking service, TikTok. Following that ,47 more Chinese apps were banned, which were primarily clones and Lite versions of the apps that had already been banned. 

In the list of the 118 Chinese apps banned on Wednesday, PUBG Mobile held a prominent place among users as the game enjoyed a massive fan following across the country numbering reportedly over 33 million. The game witnessed a staggering rise in the number of users especially during the lockdown period when people were looking for ways to keep themselves entertained. 

As of now, PUBG Mobile's services in the country have not been stopped unlike TikTok and users who already have installed the app on their smartphones can continue playing. Likewise, PUBG PC is also available in the country and players can play the game on their desktop and gaming consoles. For playing PUBG on the desktop, a good and high-speed internet connection is all that is required. 

"Government blocks 118 mobile apps which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, Defence of India, Security of State and Public Order," the Ministry of Information & Technology said in a statement on Wednesday. The statement further added, "This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace,". The government also added that the move "would safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. " PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik, PUBG MOBILE LITE, WeChat Work & WeChat reading are among a few of the banned mobile apps.