Recent trends indicate the US government is considering banning Mobile Legends in the United States of America. The Trump administration has already targeted video sharing social media application, Tik Tok in recent weeks and many industry stakeholders believe that Mobile Legends will also be on the chopping block. The ongoing global pandemic has caused a surge in the anti-China sentiment in the USA and with sanctions on Chinese investment, trade and technology looming on the horizon, many apps are in danger of being blocked by the US government. However, at the moment, Mobile Legends has not been banned in the USA.
Mobile Legends was Recently Banned in India
Recently, 59 Chinese apps including Tik Tok and Mobile Legends were banned in India after the Ministry of IT issued an order calling for the ban. The official reason for this was done because these apps ‘are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.’ However, rising tensions between the two nations, especially after the recent Galwan Valley clashes was also a major catalyst in this move.
Mobile Legends may be one of the popular MOBAs on the mobile platform, but incidents like this are certainly not going to helps its cause. India being one of the biggest markets in terms of player base and the US being a lucrative market are both essential to the growth and success of the title. While MLBB has already seen massive popularity in Southeast Asia, these two regions would very likely be on the roadmap in the near future. While Mobile Legends hasn’t yet been banned yet, if it does, it will certainly help other titles. League of Legends: Wild Rift, which is already in its alpha phase in both Brazil and the Philippines, and is likely to be one benefiting from this move. However, it too is associated with China as Riot Games is owned by Tencent.
Content creators and players from the US, whose primary titles has been Mobile Legends are all going to be affected by the move. While the region has no notable professional teams taking part in Mobile Legends, there certainly are quite a few channels and streamers who have been associated with the title.
Mobile Legends has not yet been banned in USA but the threat is certainly looming on the horizon.
