Cover-Credits:
- As of October 7th, the Regional Closed Beta includes Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Korea.
- Inside sources have suggested that Wild Rift could come to India by March 2021.
- Tencent's involvement with Riot games could complicate things for Wild Rift in India.
Wild Rift’s Regional Closed Beta officially returned on 8th October at 8:00 am PHT after an account reset. As of October 7th, the Regional Closed Beta includes Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Korea. Riot has said that other regions will be added to the beta later. As of now, most of the regions in the test are geographically close to one another.
Launching a mobile game of this scope and quality presents a lot of unique challenges, not the least of which is managing a complex global network. Since some regions have more boxes to tick than others, Riot is opting for a slower, smoother launch than a rushed, fractured one. The publisher has said that as it continues to roll out Wild Rift, a region that’s been in Closed Beta for a while may switch to Regional Open Beta, meaning anybody in that region can download the game. However, as for which regions may get the open beta is currently not known. So when can Indian fans of the game expect to get their hands on it?
RELATED: League Of Legends: Wild Rift Beta Account Reset Goes Live
Wild Rift Release Date In India
While Riot has said that Wild Rift’s global launch will happen sometime during the end of 2020, Indian fans may have to wait a little longer, sources have suggested that Wild Rift may come to India somewhere during March 2021, assuming everything goes according to plan. However, Riot’s involvement with Tencent may lead to delays.
Back in February 2011, Tencent had taken up a 93% stake in Riot Games and later in December 2015 fully acquired it. Wild Rift may face some trouble with its release in India if the recent PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang bans are any indication. Due to tensions at the border, India had decided to ban Chinese apps citing that they were prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India. The apps have been banned for allegedly ‘stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India’.
Despite Tencent being removed as PUBG Mobile’s publisher in the region, the game has still not been unbanned. Given Tencent’s involvement as Riot Games’ parent company, things could get complicated for Wild Rift. However, despite the Indian government’s reservations against Chinese apps, Riot’s main claim to fame, League of Legends has not been banned. Whether the Indian Government chooses to overlook Tencent’s involvement in Wild Rift remains to be seen.
RELATED: Here’s How To Download LoL Wild Rift APK And OBB Files
