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PUBG Mobile may return till the end of 2020

Divyesh Moghe
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PUBG Mobile may return till the end of 2020

PUBG Mobile and recent developments surrounding its ban suggest that the game is on its way to get unbanned. Since its ban, the game has treaded a very rough path with lots of ups and downs but finally, there is a glimmering ray of hope for PUBG Mobile fans and the entire competitive community of this game in India.

Starting with the ban on September 2nd, the news came as a shocker for the entire PUBG Mobile community in the country. Although this ban was meant to impact the casual player base as well, the only effect was seen on the flourishing esports industry as the masses were still enjoying this game via various ways.

The official servers were up until recent decision of Tencent to shut down their operations in India but still, players can access PUBG Mobile through its Korean version.

Recently, major developments took place in terms of this ban which started with the mentioned Tencent shutdown.

Later, PUBG Corporation announced its merger with the parent company Krafton and with it, a speculative approach towards PUBG Mobile unban started to take some shape. These implications are potentially turning into reality because other titans are coming into the picture.

Is PUBG Coming back in India?

As per our exclusive report, sources have revealed that PUBG Mobile is getting closer to its relaunch in India, with big players in the industry are looking to get the rights for the Indian market with big names like Microsoft and Airtel running in the frontlines. Along with this, several PUBG Mobile pros have hinted at the arrival of Indian PUBG Mobile very soon, potentially before or during the auspicious festival of Diwali.

Although the exact date of this arrival is not yet mentioned by anybody, all of these leads point towards a bright future of PUBG Mobile in India, which can be huge for the esports teams in the country.

With ongoing PMPL: South Asia, the seeds for upcoming PUBG Mobile World Championship are yet to be decided and if the slots are increased and PUBG Mobile returns back in India, we can see some of the invited teams battling it out at the global stages at the end of this year.

Wonder How Much Twitch Streamer Pokimane Earns?

Sonu Banerjee
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Wonder How Much Twitch Streamer Pokimane Earns?

Imane “pokimane” Anys is one of the most iconic female streamers across Twitch. Having initially joined the streaming platform in 2013, her channel underwent rapid growth over the years before eventually being named as the “Best Twitch Streamer of the year” by Shorty Awards in 2017.

Due to her increasing popularity, Poki fans are often curious about the amount of money the Twitch star is making through streaming, and it looks like we might have an answer.

According to a report on CashNetUSA, the 24-year-old is the highest-earning female streamer on the platform by a significant margin with an annual income of $550,060.

Pokimane is followed by Amouranth, who earns an estimated $384,599 annually. Lilypichu occupies the third slot on the charts with $339,354.

However, despite topping the womens’ charts, pokimane couldn’t make a place on the list of the ten highest-earning streamers across Twitch which is entirely occupied by male streamers.

Former Overwatch pro Félix “xQc” Lengyel reigns at the top, followed by Nick “NICKMERCS” Kolcheff at the #2 spot. xQc is currently the highest-paid Twitch streamer across the world with an annual income of $1,984,001 from the platform.

The report also reveals that the highest-earning streamers earn the majority of their revenue through ads, but the top female streamers on Twitch earn significantly high incomes from subscriptions and donations. 70% of the revenue of the top 10 female Twitch streamers comes

Free Fire Lyons Gaming’s Bootcamp raided by Brazil Federal Police

Divyesh Moghe
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Free Fire Lyons Gaming’s Bootcamp raided by Brazil Federal Police

Lyons Gaming, one of the prominent Free Fire esports organization in Brazil was linked to the investigations of a money laundering operation that took place in Brazil. The gaming house of this organization was searched by the Federal police to find any links with a money laundering case.

The gaming house is located in Novo Hamburgo in Brazil is a property that is owned by the leader of a criminal faction Os Manos and a drug dealer named Fabrício Santos da Silva, Nenê, who according to the investigations is a video game enthusiast and invests in online betting market.

Lyons stated a note on their social media networks accepting the ownership details but neglecting to have any relationship with that person. They have stated that they are fully cooperating with the Federal Police and this resulted into the police clearing their name as they found nothing that connected the gaming house to the criminal faction. The statement is as follows:

Lyons e-Sports clarifies that it does not have any type of relationship with the owner of the property where today its gaming house is installed. We collaborated with the investigations of the Federal Police, asked for the cancellation of the lease of the property and we are already organizing the move to a temporary space, until a new gaming house up to the quality of Lyons players is ready. We appreciate the support of our community and reiterate our commitment to the truth above all!

According to the sources, the operation named Operation Anthracnose was used by the Federal Police to crack down the money laundering practices that were taking place in the form of a network of companies, such as mechanic workshops, car dealerships, a farm, in addition to a company responsible for promoting gaming championships with bets on the black market.

A news outlet named SBT Rio Grande released a video about this raid which shows stacks of cocaine being retrieved from the property.

Image via SBT Rio Grande

The owner of Lyons also stated his clear stance on Instagram saying, “It has nothing to do with the organization or me, but with the person from whom we rented the property, and ended up linking things that are not related.” Hence, these connections were only limited with the rental service and Lyons were immediately cleared out from this case.

Also Read: How to get free diamonds in Free Fire.

COD Black Ops Cold War download size surpasses 100GB mark

Divyesh Moghe
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COD Black Ops Cold War download size surpasses 100GB mark

Activision is well-known to buff up the size of their Call of Duty titles and with each new addition, the download size keeps on increasing. The latest addition to COD franchise, Black Ops Cold War download size is revealed in a blog post and it is a quite disappointing to the console users.

Black Ops Cold War pre-launch dates

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is set to launch on 13th November and is digitally available for purchase. Those who pre-ordered this game can download it before others and enjoy the title exactly when it launches. Several pre-loading dates have been revealed, starting with PlayStation and Xbox One from today itself. The pre-loading dates are aa follows:

  • Playstation 4 – November 5th at 9AM PT
  • Xbox One – November 5th at 9AM PT
  • PC – November 10th at 10AM PT
  • Xbox Series X/S – November 10th
  • PlayStation 5 – November 12th

Players who have digitally purchased the game can download it on the dates mentioned above. The download size is a big concern the console users as PC users have an alternative that can significantly reduce the download size.

COD Black Ops Cold War Download Size

Console players with PS4 and Xbox One have to download the entire game, with size ranging in 90-100GB and this size further increases for next generation consoles like PS5 and Xbox Series X. Comparatively, PC players have an option to download only multiplayer mode at 35GB which is significantly smaller than console counterparts. The complete size list is as follows:

  • PlayStation 4 – 95GB
  • PlayStaton 5 – 133GB
  • Xbox One – 93GB
  • Xbox Series X/S – 136GB
  • PC (Multiplayer Only) – 35GB
  • PC (Full Game) – 82 GB
  • PC (Full Game on Ultra Graphics) – 125GB
Weapon Blueprints

Players can enjoy this game from November 13th and those who have pre-ordered the game digitally will get two free Weapon Blueprints from the Confrontation Weapons Pack. The download size may differ but console users can delete the additional content after downloading the entire pack by visiting the “Account & Networks” section.

Also Read: China bans Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War trailer for Tiananmen Square footage.

Microsoft, Jio, Airtel in the race to acquire PUBG Mobile rights in India: Sources

The Crew
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Microsoft, Jio, Airtel in the race to acquire PUBG Mobile rights in India: Sources

Microsoft, Reliance Jio is in the race to take over PUBG Mobile rights in India, sources have revealed this to TalkEsport. The companies are in talks to re-launch PUBG Mobile after it was banned in India following privacy concerns. The announcement of PUBG Mobile unban in India could just be weeks away.

PUBG Mobile ban has rocked the gaming scene in India with most of the players moving to other FPS shooting titles. Initially, it was speculated that Reliance Jio is in talks with BlueHole Corp., to distribute the game in India, however, that report was quickly dimmed. But now as it appears, PUBG Mobile unban will no longer be just a speculation. The two tech-giants are reportedly going to announce the deal within a few weeks, sources have confirmed to us.

It seems PUBG Mobile fans in India won’t have to wait long for their beloved game to return. The Indian competitive and casual scene was rocked by the ban imposed through an interim order issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, with PUBG-Mobile professionals and influencers opting to pay heed to the order and stream/venture into other esports disciplines.

However, our sources have revealed that PUBG Mobile is getting closer to its relaunch in India, with big players in the industry looking to get the rights for the Indian market. As per our sources, Microsoft and Airtel have been leading the race, for now, ever since Tencent officially announced the relinquishment of rights for the Indian market and the termination of services for the Indian region on October 30, 2020.

It is worth noting that Airtel had recently publicly announced their plans to step into the esports industry in a more focussed manner while also announcing a partnership with NODWIN Gaming, India’s largest esports event Organiser, which is also the official distributor of ESL, DreamHack.

Optics of PUBG Mobile Return

Several PUBG Mobile influencers and professionals have recently hinted at positive news that is due to arrive in the coming days. According to the information, we have gathered, there could be an announcement within the week that will take PUBG Mobile one step closer to its relaunch in India.

If the reports turn out to be true, Microsoft’s entry into the Mobile Gaming spectrum will shape the esports ecosystem in India in new dimensions.

Although reports of Airtel, PayTM, Jio, and other companies have been in the news, Microsoft has been named for the first time as per our sources. It is also interesting to note Microsoft had earlier in the U.S. shown their interest to acquire ByteDance’s TikTok – another Chinese app accused of a privacy breach – but it didn’t materialize as per their official statement. And PUBG Mobile was banned in India for similar reasons TikTok is in question in the United States.

Microsoft and Airtel aren’t the only players involved though. Reliance Jio, seem to have jumped back in to win the IP rights for the Indian market from the original owners, BlueHole. It will be intriguing to see who comes out on top in this race. However, the PUBG Mobile scene, the professionals, influencers, and enthusiasts would be the real winners regardless of the outcome of these discussions.

If the report turns out to be true, Microsoft’s entry into the Mobile Gaming spectrum will shape the esports ecosystem in India in new dimensions.

Former LOL Pro Voyboy banned on Twitch

Sarjyo Mukherjee
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Former LOL Pro Voyboy banned on Twitch

Former professional League Of Legends player turned streamer Joedat “Voyboy” Esfahani was banned on Twitch for undisclosed reasons with speculations hinting a DMCA takedown.

Given how Twitch handles these stuff, it is only natural for questions to arise as VoyBoy will be unable to stream for an uncertain period. The 25-year-old claims that he is unaware of the reason behind the ban as Twitch has a history of never revealing what makes them take such decisions.

“Was just streaming League 5 minutes ago when looks like my Twitch account got banned,” Voyboy tweeted.

“I was watching at the end of his stream a couple of days ago and he said he got 1 DMCA and had to delete all of his VODs and was looking for a way to save them. If he procrastinated a few days on that then they would still be up.” Miryc a Reddit user pointed it out for us, suggesting a DMCA takedown.

VoyBoy has never appeared on the news for controversial reasons before. However, he is know for playing music from various artists in his stream which remain in all his VODs. His Spotify playlist is listed crediting the owners of the songs. Even if its a DMCA takedown for the songs, its likely to be restricted to specific VODs so the channel takedown seems farfetched and unfair.

Tencent returns PUBG Mobile Indian IP rights to BlueHole

The Crew
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Tencent returns PUBG Mobile Indian IP rights to BlueHole

Tencent are set to return the publishing rights for pubg mobile in India to the original owners, BlueHole from October 30, 2020.

Due to the ongoing political unrest between India and China, the ministry of electronics and information technology issued an interim order banning more than 100 apps that is owned or developed by organisations with a Chinese background or ties to the country, citing data privacy and security issues.

Hence, the Indian PUBG Mobile scene has been in a limbo, with players not even able to compete in PMPL.

Tencent have now announced that they are ceasing all operations related to pubg mobile in India from October 30, which would mean users in india will no longer be able to log into it and play the game, even though it might be already installed in their devices.

It will be intriguing to see how all these updates map up on the road to reinstating the PUBG mobile scene in india.

PUBG Krafton Merger

PUBG Mobile can potentially get unbanned in the country looking at the developments taking place with PUBG Corporation. Recently, Krafton Inc merged with PUBG Corp. and the entirety of this game developing studio was acquired by Krafton. These moves may not directly imply anything that can be related to PUBG Mobile but there are some indicators that can hints towards a possibility of PUBG unban.

Since the ban, many leads have pointed towards a different possibility about the future of PUBG Mobile but this time, the Tencent shutdown in India is a huge breakthrough that can help to speculate the future of the game in India. Tencent recently closed down their PUBG Mobile operations in India and this could mean that a big change is coming.

In the same statement, PUBG Corp. also indicated that they have assumed the full control of publishing rights of their title in India and will work in “exploring different ways to engage its community in India through various region-based activities, including esports and community events.

This includes the Korean version of PUBG Mobile and if these changes are applied, the major data hosting and user privacy issue that led to PUBG Mobile ban in India could be solved.

This may not directly implicate anything about the future of PUBG Mobile in India but if these changes are applied and a local counterpart of PUBG Mobile is made specifically for the Indian region, the game just might get unbanned in India. This is just a speculative approach on where the ban is leading in the country and with Tencent out of the picture, some potential developments might be coming in the future.

Esports Entertainment Group Signs Agreement with the Philadelphia Union

Lauren Rasmussen
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Esports Entertainment Group Signs Agreement with the Philadelphia Union

NEWARK, N.J., – Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NasdaqCM: GMBL, GMBLW) (or the “Company”), a licensed online gambling company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, and the Philadelphia Union, Philadelphia’s Major League Soccer team, today announced that they have entered into an agreement to become the official esports tournament provider for the Union.

“We’re excited to further extend our reach into Major League Soccer through our partnership with the Philadelphia Union,” commented Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group. “Traditional sports teams continue to incorporate esports into their programs, and we are quickly becoming the go-to provider for tournament solutions for this highly attractive market segment.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will host tournaments for the Philadelphia Union on its Esports Gaming League (“EGL”) platform, providing new ways for the team to engage its fans while demonstrating the crossover appeal of esports to traditional sports fans and organizations. Tournament prizes will be provided by Philadelphia Union and include team merchandise and one-of-a-kind experiences.

“Our team and Major League Soccer have been at the forefront of incorporating esports as a way to connect and further engage our fanbase,” said Jean-Paul Dardenne, Philadelphia Union Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. “With this partnership, we are excited to continue to build on our success in esports and to provide another way for fans to connect to the team they love.”

“This is another great opportunity to promote esports and sports wagering while showcasing our brand to a large and engaged audience,” commented Magnus Leppäniemi, EVP Esports at EEG. “The rapidly growing interest in esports from the traditional sports community has been exciting development, and we look forward to providing these teams with best-in-class solutions, fortifying our leadership position in the market.”

EGL enables live and online events and tournaments where gamers can compete and enjoy a wide range of content relating to esports and video games on a proprietary technology platform. Services include full turnkey esports events, live broadcast production, game launches, and online branded tournaments.

The possibilities of PUBG Mobile unban & events that happened after ban

The Crew
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The possibilities of PUBG Mobile unban & events that happened after ban

PUBG Mobile and its story in India is quite interesting topic right now. The game which entered into the country and took over the masses to become the most popular title in India is now facing a banishment.

This rollercoaster ride is filled with ups and downs and still, the future of this game is vague. While most of the player base is enjoying the game despite the ban, the actual impact has taken place on the mobile esports industry in the country. So, what could be the future of PUBG Mobile in India is a very important question at this point of time and the answer to it is quite complex.

PUBG Mobile was banned by the IT Ministry of India on September 2nd. This ban was imposed during the escalating tension between China and India border along the LAC. This was the third ban-wave in the country where more than 100 Chinese apps alongside PUBG Mobile were banned because of user privacy issues. The official reason stated by the government was that the apps are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, Defence of India, Security of State and Public Order.”

The severe impacts of this ban were shared alike by professionals working in PUBG Mobile esports ecosystem and Tencent itself. The entire system of tournaments, content creation, production came halted in India and the game publishers also faced some consequences due to this decision.

IMPACT OF PUBG MOBILE BAN IN INDIA:

The entire player base in the country was caught off-guard due to this ban and it halted the rising mobile esports industry in India. PUBG Mobile pros were confused due to this ban and were forced to give up their invitational slots of PUBG Mobile Pro League: South Asia Fall Split.

The PUBG Mobile content creators were instantly having divided stances on this decision. Some demanded for the reversal of this imposition and some conveyed about their changing future plans. Famous names like Scout and Mortal were among the very first to address their fans where both of them urged their viewers to keep calm and announced their future plans in a short stream.

IMPACT OF BAN ON TENCENT HOLDINGS:

Tencent faced a severe impact of this ban as their share value dropped drastically after the ban was announced. According to Reuters, “Shares of Chinese gaming and social media powerhouse Tencent fell more than 2% on Sep 03, 2020 after India banned 118 mobile apps, including the firm’s popular videogame PUBG.

This reportedly led Tencent to lose over $14 billion. The Chinese conglomerate faced a heavy financial backlash due to India’s decision to ban this game.

EVENTS THAT PRECEDED AFTER THE BAN:

Some major events took place following the PUBG Mobile ban in India. From major bonds getting severed for the sake of a single region to plausible rumoured partnerships between titans across the country, PUBG Mobile led the way to a long train of thoughts which paved its way to build a very hazy picture of PUBG Mobile’s future into the country.

PUBG CORPORATION’S REACTION TO THIS BAN:

One week after the ban was stated, PUBG Corporation issued a statement where they made some major changes that could be seen as the first step towards lifting this ban. PUBG Corp. severed their ties with Tencent Holdings and assumed complete control over publishing and distribution rights of PUBG Mobile in India.

They also gave assurances that pointed towards localized content and tournaments for the region. This can be compared to Game for Peace; the Chinese variant of PUBG Mobile; or PUBG Mobile Korea, which has its own local variant separated from the global version. This meant that India could get their own separate game with PUBG Corporation as the publishers.

JIO AND PUBG PARTNERSHIP

Soon after PUBG Corporation announced about their plans for India, rumors started flying around and various news surfaced on the internet.

The major news came within a week where reports suggested that PUBG Corporation were in talks with Indian telecommunication titan Jio for discussing a potential partnership.

The distribution and publishing rights were on the table for this partnership but later, these rumors faded away and no further reports were published talking about the developments of this arrangement.

MOVES BY INDIAN ESPORTS ORGANISATIONS:

Megastars was the first Indian organization to drop their PUBG Mobile and several other teams followed the suit. Other prominent organizations in India are still waiting on their decision about the future of their PUBG Mobile rosters in India. Indian organizations named Stalwart Esports and FutureStation Gaming decided to shift their base from India to other South Asian regions to be able to compete in PMPL: South Asia Fall Split.

“PUBG MOBILE BAN IN INDIA IS GOING TO BE PERMANENT”

A major news was released by InsideSport where their sources had revealed that “MeitY is in no hurry to revoke the ban on PUBG or any other banned Chinese app.” It also stated that this “mere announcement” from PUBG Corporation to severe its ties with Tencent Games in India is not enough for the ban to be revoked. The entire statement read:

THERE IS NO DISCUSSION WITHIN THE MINISTRY OFFICIALS TO REVOKE THE BAN ON ANY OF THE APPS LISTED IN THE BAN LIST. WE WILL STAY AWAY FROM MAKING ANY COMMENT ON ANY SPECIFIC COMPANY OR APP

Ministry Source

PUBG CORP. MERGER WITH KRAFTON

PUBG Corporation recently announced a merger with Krafton Inc. This merger took the entirety of PUBG Corp. under the umbrella of Krafton alongside all the distribution and development operations of the company’s famous battle-royale title PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds.

This is not linked to PUBG Mobile ban or unban in India but can change a few things in the future. As mentioned above, PUBG Corp assumed full control over PUBG Mobile IP in India and now as the company itself has merged with Krafton; its parent company; there may be few changes that can take place with the PUBG Mobile publishing rights in India.

TENCENT SHUTS DOWN OPERATIONS IN INDIA:

This was the final nail in the coffin for the PUBG Mobile story in India. Tencent finally shuts down their operations in the country which rendered PUBG Mobile inaccessible in the country.

Despite the ban, most of the casual players were still enjoying the game with various third-party stores but with this announcement, PUBG Mobile servers in India have been shut down and hence, the PUBG Mobile chapter in India is entirely closed for now.

Also Read | PUBG & Krafton Merger

POSSIBILITIES OF PUBG MOBILE UNBAN IN THE COUNTRY:

Before speculating anything, we would like to state that further statements are plausible future predictions about PUBG Mobile’s future in India and hence, there is always a probability of things turning into a completely different direction.

Firstly, considering the final Tencent shutdown as a basis, there is a strong possibility that a local counterpart of PUBG Mobile might be in the making and might be announced in the future.

Furthermore, when PUBG corporation released a statement in which they stated their will to “continue to engage” with Indian PUBG Mobile fans and the fact that India was a large marketplace to the game take this ban issue to become one of the priority tasks to handle for such a large company.

All of these things point towards a potential of PUBG Mobile getting unbanned in coming future and hence, we can see a closure to this large series of events very soon.

PUBG Mobile Still Working In India Despite Ban

The Crew
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PUBG Mobile Still Working In India Despite Ban

PUBG Mobile was expected to fully shut down in India when Tencent announced that they were closing down all their PUBG Mobile operations in India but the picture is quite different. Despite the game technically rendered unplayable, players are still finding various ways to enjoy PUBG Mobile in India. This time, players are opting for PUBG Mobile Korean version to solve enjoy the game despite of the imposed ban.

PUBG Mobile was banned in India alongside several other Chinese apps which were declared as a threat to the national security and user privacy. The IT Ministry of India imposed this ban on PUBG Mobile under the pretext of them being “involved in activities against India’s sovereignty, defense and security of states and public order.”

Since this ban, the first obvious outcome was that the game itself will be completely useless in India but that was not the case. After the ban, the game was taken down from official App stores but still, it was working completely fine.

PUBG Corporation severed its ties with Tencent for Indian region within a week of this ban but still, the game was running in the country for almost two months until Tencent finally stated that they are stepping away from the Indian region for PUBG Mobile and shut down all of their operations in the country.

After this decision, PUBG Mobile servers were closed down in India and players were unable to play this game for a while but PUBG enthusiasts found out a method that solved this problem as well. The global version of PUBG Mobile is now replaced with a Korean version of the game which is completely similar to PUBG Mobile but with different servers and user IDs.

PUBG Mobile Korean version is easily accessible in the country and this shift allows players to enjoy the game at the cost of losing all their previous achievements, costumes, ranks and more. This shift is like a new start for most of the players and the game is becoming quite popular in the community as well.

This game may not be the perfect alternative for the entire PUBG Mobile esports scene in India but can be considered as a boon for the casual players. Despite the ban, PUBG Mobile can be still considered to be in a working condition in India but under a different name and form.

ALSO READ | HOW TO DOWNLOAD & INSTALL PUBG MOBILE KR VERSION?

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