FAUG, Made-in-India war game, crosses 5 million downloads

(Update: The first version of this story talked about FAUG crossing one million downloads. Later it has been changed keeping in line with the official info from the company, nCore Games, that is the brain behind the game.)  

FAUG (Fearless and United Guards), India's gaming ecosystem's purported answer to the hugely popular but now banned PUBG, was launched on India's Republic Day, January 26, yesterday.

Developed by nCore Games, FAUG is conceptualised around the life of an Indian soldier and portrays how faujis (Hindi for Indian military personnel) are fighting for the country on the border. 

The first episode was available on Google Play Store and in around 24 hours of its release, there have been more than five million downloads, making it the number one free game on the Play Store, the company said through its official handle on Twitter. 

This is despite the fact that the game has got less than positive reviews. For the record, the game had more than 5 million pre-registrations.

On the Play Store, there are many five-star ratings as well as one star ratings, which kind of the skews the picture for the lay observers.

Its iOS version is expected to be launched on the App Store in 3-4 months.

• Here's all you need to know about FAUG
• Best gaming phones in India for 2021
• Here's how FAU-G is different from PUBG

FAUG: Updates and improvements soon

FAUG is free to download with in-app purchases and optional ads. It has an in-built store where players can buy weapons, such as clubs, axes and pipes, and recruit trained commandos in their teams using in-game tokens, which can be bought with real money or earned in the game as reward points.

The game is based on real scenarios encountered by the Indian security forces while dealing with both domestic and foreign threats. The first level of the game is set in the Galwan Valley backdrop (the location of India-China border skirmish). The game is currently only single-player with multiplayer on the horizon. 

The campaign mode has voice overs and the game's storyline is in Hindi and Tamil with English subtitles and will be available in other Indian languages in the days to come.

Reviewers say there is a need for additional graphics and also improvement in the game presentation as well.

The company is expected to come up with more updates and the gaming environment as well.

The battle royal mode (a la PUBG Mobile) is also expected to be launched soon. FAU-G has 5v5 Team Deathmatch and Free for All modes, but they are not accessible at the moment.

"We are working towards adding more content to the game and improving the gameplay experience," the company has said.

• Review of FAUG: Fearless and United Guards