FAU-G has finally launched and is now available to download on Google Play. Developed by nCore Games, the action mobile game comes as a home-grown alternative to PUBG Mobile, that was banned along with other Chinese apps by the government in September last year. In an interview with NDTV, nCore Games co-founder Vishal Gondal talks about further details of the game, its target audience, its monetisation strategies, and future plans to enter the world of esports.
FAU-G, aka Fearless and United Guards, has finally launched and is now available to download on Google Play. Developed by nCore Games, the action mobile game comes as a home-grown alternative to PUBG Mobile, that was banned along with other Chinese apps by the government in September last year. FAU-G was initially planned to launch in November, but following several delays, the title finally saw a release on January 26, marking the Republic Day. In the meantime, FAU-G saw an astonishing number of registrations in the days lining up to the launch. Earlier this month, FAU-G crossed the four million pre-registration mark on Google Play, according to nCore Games co-founder and chairman Vishal Gondal. The game was also under the spotlight thanks to Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and his hands-on involvement with FAU-G’s development – from the title to the theme song. FAU-G has now launched on Google Play, and in an interview with NDTV, Gondal talks about further details of the game, its target audience, its monetisation strategies, and future plans to enter the world of esports. You can watch the full interview below, or read excerpts edited for clarity. NDTV: Congratulations on the launch of the game! FAU-G crossed four million registrations on the first day of its launch on the Google Play store. This is the highest-ever number of pre-registrations in India. Can you tell us more about what players should expect from FAU-G when they first download the game? Vishal Gondal: FAU-G is the first time when developers are attempting to create what I call original Indian stories – Indian IP. Which is why I do believe that the kind of response we have got is phenomenal. It is just the way it works. For example, if you look at Netflix or Amazon Prime Video where it had all these foreign shows like Narcos. But, when it came to Indian movies and Indian shows, they dominate. If you look at any platform, there’s finally Indian content and Indian IPs. Gaming is the only place where Indians were not given access to top quality Indian content. Most of the games were either Chinese or Korean or from other parts of the world, which is why I wanted to make sure that we give people what they like, what they relate to, and what they connect with. And I think with any Indian, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, [one point of interest] we can connect with full dedication is our soldiers, our faujis, and the sacrifices they have made for the country. I believe that younger people, especially, are not really aware of it because they’re all immersed in their world of computer or mobile games. So, the idea is to give people not only an experience of the game with FAU-G, but actually let them live a life of a soldier and experience what it is to be on the frontlines. FAU-G is being compared to PUBG. Can you shed some light on the gameplay similarities between the two, if at all? How is different, or better, than PUBG? Also, PUBG is making a re-entry in India. Are you ready to take the competition head-on? When it comes to entertainment, there is foreign content and then there is content which is home-grown and Indian.
