The banning masquerade of mobile games in India continues as Dead by Daylight Mobile is no longer available on shopfronts. While the main factors of the ban are still a blur, the developers explain that it was done to conform to the current data privacy policy.
The gaming industry in India is at an all-time high becoming the biggest growth in the country. At such a pivotal point, in the growth phase of the industry, this ban comes as a shock.
To stay in line with the interim order from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in India, we will be removing Dead by Daylight Mobile from the Storefronts. Once it is removed, players in India will no longer be able to access and play Dead by Daylight Mobile.
— Dead by Daylight Mobile (@DbDMobile) March 23, 2023
With the current Dead by Daylight Mobile ban, players in India will no longer be able to download the game from any mobile store application. This ban came directly from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) of India.
This is however not the first time a mobile game is banned in India. Several incidents have already taken place like this before. Let us find out how this affects the rising gaming culture and which titles are being targeted in general.
MeitY brings down the ban hammer once again, this time on Dead by Daylight Mobile
Ever since the global pandemic back in 2020, a number of stances were taken by MeitY against Chinese applications. Since then, quite a few applications were removed from App Store and Google Play Store seeing their Chinese affiliation.
However, the first strike on the gaming culture fell as PUBG Mobile was banned. From there on, it stretched to Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Free Fire, and now Dead by Daylight Mobile. In the case of the Dead by Daylight Mobile ban, its publisher NetEase being a Chinese company might be the X factor.
While that can be a huge factor, it is also something to note that the game was unbanned for a long time now. What made MeitY issue an interim ban is unclear, but it is expected to be some sort of security or privacy breach by transferring local data to China.
Uncertainty and delay of new titles
Wild Rift
Even when it comes to new titles, India is falling behind already with their releases. For example, League of Legends Wild Rift was released globally in 2020. However, for India, fans are still waiting for a possible release date.
With the game not releasing for Indian players, the esports industry is taking a massive hit as Indian players are falling behind in the scene. And even if the game releases, there is no guarantee that it will not be banned afterward.
Valorant Mobile
Back in June 2021, Riot Games announced that the long-awaited Valorant Mobile will be released soon. However, there is no release date announced yet. With that in mind, it is also uncertain that the title will be released in India.
Just like Wild Rift or any other mobile title, any Chinese affiliation results in either being banned sometime or simply never being released in India.
Impact of such bans on the gaming culture
Mobile gaming has been growing for quite a few years now throughout the world. And putting a stop to massively famous mobile titles can always halt progress in its steps.
In India, mobile gaming has always been a much more prominent factor when it comes to gaming in general. And with the ban of one title after another due to Chinese affiliations can only lead to discomfort. While patriotic hearts can be swayed by such moves, the mostly secular gaming community will only frown upon such decisions.
Despite all the problems and issues, the developers of the game have come out and shown their gratitude toward the community.
“We are grateful for your support and will provide further updates on the status of Dead by Daylight Mobile in India when possible,” said the developers.
We are grateful for your support and will provide further updates on the status of Dead by Daylight Mobile in India when possible.
— Dead by Daylight Mobile (@DbDMobile) March 23, 2023
Accounting for all the reasons for which the game was banned, it still puts a massively negative effect on growth. If every other mobile gaming title having Chinese affiliations is banned in the future, it will only retard the effect.
