The popular gaming app PUBG plans to return to the country two months after it was banned over security concerns following a product distribution deal between parent firm Krafton and cloud computing major Microsoft Azure, reports said.

The South Korean gaming firm has engaged with global cloud service providers in recent weeks to store user data in servers within the country. The gaming giant has informed high-profile streamers that it expects to resume services in the country before the year ends, news site TechCrunch said in a report.
Officials said they have not received any fresh communication for the revocation of the ban following the firm’s plan to store data within the country.

Some reports had stated that apart from data security issues, the Indian IT ministry had got complaints from many quarters on the violent nature of the game and that does not change with altering the distribution right to another.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT said it received reports and complaints from several sources that indicated the Android and iOS apps are “‘stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India”.

“This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security, and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace,” the ministry had said.
The deal will also include PUBG on PC and consoles, in addition to PUBG Mobile, being hosted on Microsoft Azure’s cloud platform.

“With privacy and data security being a top priority for Krafton, the company will be working with Microsoft to ensure personal data protection through Azure... The collaboration will ensure that privacy rights are respected and relevant software will be in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” Krafton said in an official statement. PUBG Corporation is a part of Krafton.

To allay the concerns over data security, Krafton said it will collaborate with Microsoft to introduce a verification process to ensure that the personal data of players is in-line with the appropriate requirements in countries where Krafton and its subsidiaries operate.