Made in India, FAU-G is inspired by real events in Indian Armed Forces history and will release on January 26, India’s Republic Day.
The much-awaited Indian shooting game Fearless And United Guards, or FAU-G, is all set to release tomorrow, on Republic Day – an Indian national holiday marking the date the country’s independent Constitution came into effect.
Touted as the homegrown rival to the highly popular game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), FAU-G has recorded over four million pre-registrations on Google Play since pre-registration went live on November 30. Of these, over 1 million pre-registrations were recorded within the first 24 hours, the highest in India to date.
Developed by nCORE games, FAU-G was first announced in September last year, close on the heels of the Indian government’s decision to ban PUBG Mobile in the country.
While PUBG is developed and published by PUBG Corporation, a subsidiary of South Korea-based video game company Bluehole, Chinese multinational tech conglomerate Tencent is a publishing partner for the game’s mobile version in India. This meant that PUBG Mobile also made it to the list of a slew of Chinese apps the Indian government banned in late-June.
What is FAU-G?
“High up on the peaks at India’s northern border, an elite fighting group protects the nation’s pride and sovereignty. It’s a daunting task, for the most courageous: The Fearless and United Guards,” reads the Google Play description of the game.
A First Person Shooter (FPS) game, the ‘Made in India’ game is inspired by real events in Indian Armed Forces history.
While the game was initially slated to release at the end of 2020, it got delayed by a few months. Later, Bengaluru-based nCORE games announced the launch date of the game on January 3 with a trailer that featured Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, which is believed to be the game’s first episode.
The glimpses from the episode showed Indian soldiers going up against China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at the Galwan Valley, where the Indian and Chinese armies have had a series of clashes since June last year.
While the first teaser of the game, released in October, showcased soldiers using various close combat skills and melee-weapons, the new teaser showed assault rifles. Additionally, the trailer also featured dialogues in Punjabi, a regional language, and the title track ‘FAU-G’.
How’s FAU-G different from PUBG?
While there are similarities between both the games, the makers of FAU-G have clarified that the game should not be compared with PUBG. While FAU-G is based on real incidents, PUBG is set on an imaginary island.
“We are not trying to copy PUBG, true to the story of Galwan there are no [conventional] weapons in this but there are unique weapons, which were used by actual soldiers,” Ganesh Hande, Co-Founder, and COO of nCORE games said in an interview with IGN, adding that in the future episodes outside Galwan Valley, there will be other weapons.
Unlike PUBG, during launch, FAU-G will not feature Battle Royale gameplay modes where multiple players will be randomly put together in the gameplay area and must fight for survival. The game will begin with a story mode for single-player and co-operative play. However, Battle Royale and PvP (player versus player) modes will be added later.
Additionally, Vishal Gondal, Founder, and Chairman of nCORE games, claims that the game comes with a purpose.
“There is no mindless shooting or just fighting for the sake of fighting in this game,” he said. “…While we definitely want gamers to enjoy, and in this case, it’s also about knowing about the sacrifices of our soldiers. We’re attaching you to a larger purpose.”
The developers have also stated that 20% of the game’s revenue will be donated to Bharat Ke Veer: India’s Bravehearts Trust. Set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Trust is a fundraising initiative on behalf of members of the Indian paramilitary Forces.
How to download the game
Those who have pre-registered will receive a push notification stating that the game is available for download. On eligible devices, the game will be automatically downloaded and installed.
If you did not pre-register, you can download it from Google Play Store or directly download the APK file from the official website upon release.
Currently, the game is available for pre-registration only on Android devices and the developers have not stated if the game will be available on iOS-powered devices such as iPhones and iPads.
Header image courtesy of nCORE Games/Play Store
