Along with the eagerly anticipated news of India’s potential unban on PUBG MOBILE, November has been an eventful month for the countries esports scene. This month, stakeholders and tournament organisers have slowly but surely diversified their portfolios to be able to operate in spite of one of the region’s most popular games being unavailable, albeit potentially on a temporary basis.
These are the biggest esports business stories in India for the month of November, in collaboration with AFK Gaming.
PUBG Corp announces plans to re-launch in India with $100m investment
The PUBG Corporation, which has recently merged with parent company Krafton and been renamed PUBG Studio, announced plans to relaunch PUBG Mobile in India after the game was banned by the authorities in early September due to concerns over security and user privacy. The plan is to launch a dedicated Indian version of the game along with a $100m(~GBP75.1m ) investment to set up offices, hire personnel and invest into growing the region’s esports ecosystem.
While the game is yet to be unbanned, PUBG Corp has also registered its company with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Oxygen Esports enters India
North American esports organisation, Oxygen Esports has announced its entry into India, picking up former Fnatic player, Harpreet ‘Ronak’ Janjuha as the first addition to its roster. A concrete roster announcement is expected once PUBG Mobile is unbanned in the country.
Skyesports to host Riot sanctioned VALORANT tournament in India
Indian esports organisation, Skyesports, is set to host a city-based Riot Games sanctioned VALORANT tournament in India. The tournament features a 1m INR(~GBP10,000) prize pool with professional teams, influencers and streamers set to be a part of it. The tournament also features Western Digital Black and AMD as sponsors.
Qualcomm Technologies to Take its First Steps in Mobile Esports in India
Qualcomm Technologies announced its first foray into esports by launching its own IP in India known as Snapdragon Conquest. The inaugural season features a $67,000 (~GBP50,000) Free Fire tournament in the country with plans to include newer titles in the subsequent seasons. Qualcomm has previously sponsored events such as the PUBG Mobile World League and the ongoing PUBG Mobile Global Championship.
AFK Gaming is India-based esports media and content company that aims to provide quality and consistent coverage about teams, players, tournaments and competitive video games with a primary focus on the Asian region.