FAU authors:G: "Our game is not a clone of PUBG Mobile"

Two days after PUBG Mobile was banned in India, local developers presented their own analogue of the game called FAU:G. Almost immediately, a trailer for the new battle royale and rumors about the mechanics of the game appeared on the web. But it’s not that simple. FAU Creators:G stated that the leaked information is fake, and the title is not like PUBG Mobile.

The announcement of the project by the Indian studio nCore Games took place at a very good time: just when the country’s government blocked 118 Chinese apps, including PUBG Mobile, and the prime minister said that India needed games about India. The problem turned out to be that the mobile title sounded like PUBG Mobile, looked like PUBG Mobile and was promoted among the audience as a clone of PUBG Mobile.

On September 5, Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at Niko Partners, wrote a number of posts on Twitter on this topic. In his opinion, the goal of nCore is to extract as much profit as possible due to the ban of PUBG Mobile, and the FAU itself:G is a hastily created craft.

“Barely a couple of days after India banned PUBG Mobile, nCore announced the development of FAU-G,” Ahmad writes.“Not only does the name sound exactly like PUBG, it is also consonant with the Hindi word for soldier.”

“The main art that is used in advertising the game is a picture from a stock photo, where a patch was added to soldiers in the form of an Indian flag using Photoshop. There are still no real screenshots, although the game will be released in October.”

However, the nCore team denies the allegations and states that FAU:G was supposed to be released on August 15, but was postponed due to difficulties in development.

“We didn’t wait for PUBG’s ban and started creating the game long before it. But it takes time,” says Vishal Gondal, the company’s founder. “Also, the partnership with Bharat Ke Veer [the Indian military foundation] is not concluded in 24 hours. We are not trying to compete. If PUBG returns, it will not affect our plans. We are different from PUBG.”

Gondal also stressed that all the images that are walking on the Internet are fake.

“We don’t have a trailer,” says Gondal. “We didn’t release anything. You may see something in October, but not in September. In addition, there are 15 fake accounts on Instagram. We didn’t expect such a reaction.”

What nCore is actually preparing:

• FAU gameplay:G will be tied to the Indo-Chinese border conflict in 1996. Players will find themselves in the center of events in the valley of the Galvan River and will take the Indian side;
• Genre FAU:G – MMO is a third-person shooter. The title will support two modes: single-user and multi-user. In one of them, the battle royale will also be available to players, but it will not be added to the game immediately, but only after a while after the release. When exactly nCore does not specify;
• nCore strives to achieve realistic combat operations. Given that it is forbidden to use weapons in the Galvan Valley, players will fight either hand-to-hand or with melee weapons. What kind of cold steel gamers will receive, the studio also does not disclose yet;
• FAU:G will become a free-play game with the monetization mechanics of a combat pass;
• The studio also plans to bring the title to the esports arena in the future.

Despite the information provided by the developer company, analyst Daniel Ahmad is still skeptical about the project.

“nCore started waving promises to give mobile gamers a local FAU title:G only when PUBG Mobile was banned in India. The game is scheduled to be released in October, and there is still little information. It looks like only the foundation is ready, but no more.”

Also on the topic:

• PUBG Corporation revoked the rights to the PUBG Mobile franchise in India from Tencent118 Chinese apps blocked in India, including PUBG Mobile
• The government of India drew attention to the video game market, speaking in support of the industry
• Is there any news?