PUBG Mobile Ban In India: Is it an Opportunity for Indian Game Developers?

The Popularity of PUBG Mobile in India

PUBG mobile is an immensely popular online multiplayer game which, unfortunately (or fortunately) now comes in the list of 118 Banned Chinese Apps in India. It ranks among the world’s top five smartphone apps with more than 734 Million downloads on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

As per app intelligence firm, Sensor Tower, out of all the downloads that the app boasts, its 25% global user base comes from India. Out of its 734 Million lifetime downloads, 175 Million game installations are done by Indian users only.

The game has nearly 13 million active daily users in the country and around 50 Million total active players registered with PUBG Mobile. Not just PUBG Mobile was a hub of professional gamers in India representing the country at the global level in various competitions and tournaments – it was also a reason behind the growth of the live game streaming market in India with a number of content developers making money through it.

While the esports federation of India denied that there will be any panic in the market because of a ban on PUBG – its users on social media does not seem to agree with the federation.

The director of the federation Lokesh Suji mentioned the name of other games that can fill the void of PUBG and said that the esports industry wasn’t solely dependent on just one game. He also said that this move by the Indian government has given a chance to Indian game developers to innovate and grab the market which needs a good homegrown game app.

But, a few PUBG lovers on social media aren’t at all happy with this move of the government. Just after a few hours of the app ban, they flooded social media with sad tweets and posts to express their sadness. A number of those even wondered if PUBG is in reality a Chinese app or not.

Due to the blend of PUBG Mobile’s immense popularity in the country and the Indian government seeing it as a hazard for national data security – its future is still unpredictable in the country. However, one thing is sure, its ban has opened a gateway for Indian game developers to take a step ahead in winning the market. Let’s see how they can do so.

Also Read: Top 8 Gaming Chat Apps And How They are Making Millions in Revenue

How Indian Developers Can Build an App Like PUBG?

Inspired by the popularity of PUBG Mobile, a number of Indian game app developers are now thinking of developing a PUBG clone to fill the void created by its ban in the Indian market. Indeed, it is a big business opportunity and if executed in the right way, developing an app like PUBG will give back heavy returns.

If you are one of those budding entrepreneurs who wish to launch an app like PUBG – keep in mind its high-quality graphic and robustness. The game app includes tremendous designs and it isn’t as easy as a walk in the park to create a similar kinda experience for alluring users. You should move ahead with proper planning and best in class game app developers. Here is how you can start the same:

1. Define Your Game App’s USP

When it comes to developing a game, the idea behind it has to be unique. That’s why it is very important to brainstorm what you will offer to this growing industry for attracting users towards your game app. What will be the main hook of your game? So, come up with some unique ideas, decide a theme for your game, improvise whatever you are having in your mind, and then move forward towards creating it. 

PUBG’s USP is its realistic game play and easy to learn mechanics. The game is easy as well as addictive and that is something that keeps users hooked to the app. 

2. Build a Story Line Behind Your Game

In the gaming world, a story is the key to success. Therefore, to make your game app a success, you must  include a story behind it. Obviously, your players will need a story in their mind to finish a game. For example, PUBG is an app that leaves you on a deserted island and asks users to get out of it alive. It gives them a goal to achieve and keep users hooked.

It doesn’t matter how simple your story is – the main crux is – it has to be interesting. Also, creating a story line for a game isn’t that difficult. You just need to answer the following questions to get there:

• What will be the theme of your game – a jungle, ocean, or something else?
• Who will be the hero and villain of your story?
• For what reason, will they fight with each other?
• What will the hero get if he wins?

That’s it. Once you get the storyline cleared on which you want to build your game – you are halfway there in the journey of launching a successful game app.

3. Include Phenomenal Graphics – A Must-Have

If you have done even a bit of research about game apps, you must be aware of how important clear graphics are for a game. A perfect blend of realistic graphics, amazing effects, extra features in the design, and minute detailing will help you make your app stand out in the market.

Also, an app like PUBG must have bright colors, 3D graphics, adjustable resolution, and alluring moves. It should also have settings related to sharpness, sound, and brightness control so that users can play the game as per their preferences.

The game should be developed in such a way – that it runs perfectly on every device ranging from desktop to mobile apps and tablets.

4. Pay Heeds to Game App Development

Once you have your game app idea ready – the next step involves development. In this step, you will decide on tools and technologies that you will use to create an app like PUBG. 

Basically, you can develop such an app either the native way or you can go with cross-platform mobile app development. Let’s get into the details of these two processes:

• Native Game App Development: While developing a game app using Native languages is a perfect option. It may cost you a lot higher as compared to cross-platform game app development. Using this process, you will have to create different apps for Android and iOS.

• Cross-Platform Game App Development: This process follows the write-once use anywhere approach. Using this process, you can build one app to run it on different platforms. Cross-platform game apps are generally developed using Unity or Unreal Engine using languages like C++, C#, and JavaScript. 

Out of these two processes, which one you should choose depends on your app requirements. Generally, game app developers prefer Unity or Unreal Engine for developing game apps because of the ease these IDEs provide. We at Apptunix, prefer building game applications using Unreal Engine. Even PUBG is built using Unreal Engine by Epic Games.

5. Find Ways to Monetize Your App

Behind every app, the single goal is to earn money. Therefore, you need to plan your game app monetization strategy even before you start the development of your app. Creating a game app for any platform can be time-consuming as well as expensive. 

That’s why you should have a plan to recover all your investment ASAP. Here are some common ways game apps use to earn money:

In-app purchases: Freemium model is the most widely used strategy for game app monetization. If your app is addictive enough, you can generate a good amount of revenue by letting users spend on your game for purchasing weapons, costumes, or other game equipment.

In-App Ads: There are numerous games that combine apps with in-app purchases. This is a great technique as neither of these strategies can alone bring significant revenue. Also, make sure to pay special emphasis to the ad content and to whom you target these ads. Because if users find your ads irrelevant or too much – it can take a toll on the popularity of your app. 

Premium versions: Premium game apps either offer a free demo or trial and approach players to pay for additional use. You can also charge users right away (for even downloading your app) however that will significantly reduce the number of downloads of your app.

6. Plan a Launch Strategy

When launching a game app, it is crucial to plan a robust launch strategy for the same. When PUBG corporation launched PUBG Mobile, they first released it for users in Canada only even when the app was already a hit for desktop. The main purpose of this soft launch was to test the app for any bugs or crashes. Also, they wanted to see how users will react to it. 

This is a wonderful strategy to launch a game app to get extreme traction and perfection. 

In the present era where the gamers are continuously looking for the interesting, exciting, engaging, and multi-level games – apps like PUBG are a treat to their eyes. There is no doubt in saying that the creation of an app like PUBG is not going to be easy at all but the process will be worth it.

If you are still planning to create an app like PUBG and wondering how much it will cost you – here is our comprehensive blog on PUBG like app development cost.  

How Apptunix Can Help Game App Developers?

So, that was all about PUBG ban in India and how this step of the government has affected the market of app developers in the country. To all the budding entrepreneurs, who were planning to step in the arena of game app development – we would say, now is the right time to do so.

The market is in need of an amazing game app and you can capture it with your own robust solution. If you are willing to move forward towards building your own app like PUBG, we at Apptunix can help you do the same with utmost perfection.

We have a team of enthusiastic game app developers that can execute any idea to turn it into an amazing app. Our expert game app developers build high-end game apps for users with the focus to attract a crowd with spectacular graphics, high-end processor, HD display, and other crucial attributes.

If you want to make your game app a hit – contact now!