Is Undawn available in India? Tencent reportedly returns following PUBG Mobile ban 

Undawn is a free-to-play open-world zombie survival RPG developed by Tencent Games and Lightspeed & Quantum and published by Level Infinite. It was released recently on June 12, 2023, for mobile and PC platforms and pits players in a post-apocalyptic setting where they can explore a vast and shattered open world overrun by zombies, build a base of operations, and team up with friends to survive and defeat evil forces that threaten your survival.

Recently, Tencent brought Undawn into the Indian market and made it available for download through its Singapore and Amsterdam-based subsidiary, Level Infinite. This has led to speculations of Tencent possibly returning to operate in India, where they could possibly bring back their renowned battle royale game, PUBG Mobile, after its ban in India nearly three years ago.

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A deep dive into Undawn's availability in India and Tencent's possible return to Indian gaming market

Brave the undead world in this new survival RPG for Mobile and PC (Image via Level Infinite)

While Undawn has managed to bring a fresh perspective into the survival horror genre for mobile, it is rather uncanny since Chinese tech giant Tencent Games developed the game. Back in 2020, due to escalating border tensions between India and China and national security concerns from the Indian Government, a ban on all Chinese products and applications was imposed.

Tencent's PUBG Mobile was also included in the ban, devastating fans and resulting in Krafton cutting ties with Tencent to launch an Indian version of PUBG known as "Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI)."

Roughly after three years, it appears that Tencent could potentially be returning to operate in India through Undawn's launch, and fans are now gunning for a possibility that PUBG Mobile could also return to India soon. However, Tencent nor the Indian Government has made an official announcement.

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What does this mean?

India's mobile gaming industry has been booming for years, and it seems that Tencent is leveraging the success of its new online RPG to delight Indian gamers. Undawn's release began with Android and iOS, followed by a companion version for PC arriving on Steam.

In light of Tencent's possible return, industry analyst Rishi Alwani made the following statement in a recent report:

"Tencent-owned enterprises like Supercell and Riot Games still have their games available in India and in Riot's case, also have ongoing esports commitments on ground.”

He added:

“They don't seem to have issues in operating here probably due to their base of operations being Europe and the US. With this move, it seems that Tencent is borrowing a leaf out of their book."

While more information on the matter is yet to be revealed, Undawn will be playable in India under the Level Infinite label. Other games published by Tencent, such as Arena Breakout and Arena of Valor, will also be available under the Singapore and Amsterdam-based subsidiary.