Both PUBG Mobile and FAU-G have been doing the rounds in India in terms of news, hype and expectations. PUBG Mobile was banned in India by the MEITY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) alongside 118 apps on September 2 because they “are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of state and public order.”
And nCore, which is the developer for FAU-G, took up this opportunity to announce the game which sounded rather similar to PUBG. But according to the developers that seems to be the extent of the similarities of the two games.
With all the rumors that were going about how FAU-G would just be an imitation of PUBG Mobile, nCore founder Vishal Gondal said were baseless. He went on to explain how the two games would be different. And here we will take a look at those differences.
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FAU-G and PUBG: What's not alike
While FAU-G and PUBG Mobile have their similarities, there is much which differs.
- First off, PUBG Mobile is essentially a battle royale game. The battle royale mode refers to one where a number of players battle it out with each other to be the last man standing. This is apparently not the case with FAU-G, and it has been confirmed that the game will feature the recent Galwan Valley clash as a scenario in it. Which means that there will be insurgents. Meaning it will probably not be a battle royale, but Gondal confirmed that it may include the mode in future.
- Considering the last point, FAU-G would probably not feature any player-vs-player mode and could be a co-op. One the other hand PUBG Mobile is essentially a player-vs-player game.
- Moving on, Vishal Gondal confirmed that FAU-G would feature melee combat without any guns involved. There will be melee weapons though, which could be used against enemies. PUBG Mobile also features melee weapons, but the main combat involves guns.
- FAU-G, which is probably be a co-op game, would involve taking down AI enemies which again is not present in PUBG Mobile.
- Gondal also clarified that FAU-G would be in the 3rd person perspective which is one of the modes available in PUBG Mobile, but conversely, it also has the First Person Perspective available.
FAU-G: Likely release date and the future
The company began development in May 2020 and initially sought to release the game on August 15, to coincide with India's Independence day. However, due to the complex nature of the game development, it had to be pushed and recent reports indicate that the initial launch was set for September itself that didn't happen.
In fact, the founders say that FAU-G was actually a part of three games that they are currently working on, of which one is a cricket game and the other associated with music. The cricket game was also set for release in September, coinciding with India's popular franchise cricket tournament IPL. The tournament, which got postponed from March due to Covid-19 starts on September 19.
The company is taking baby steps with its new title and have not managed to raise funds that would be required to sustain such titles over the long term. To add new features to the existing titles and new titles to the franchise, nCore Games would require a venture round sooner than later. Given that gaming has not traditionally been a VC favourite in India, we need to wait and see how their efforts go in the future.
It remains to be seen if there would be actual long-term interest in the title or if it will end up being a fad. With PUBG actively looking at ways to return to India, we feel the battle royale is just getting started. And, we aren't even talking about the recent high refresh rate support that PUBG had announced.
