After months of teasing, it looks like we’ll soon get to play FAU-G aka Fearless And United Guards on our phones in a couple of weeks. But how exactly did we get here and what exactly can we expect from the upcoming game? Let’s take a trip back and see the major milestones in FAU-G’s story and get a recap in the process.
In early September, the Indian Government decided to wield the ban hammer again. This time, PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite were hit and the game was officially removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store soon after. The move came after tense confrontation between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. The move also rode an increasing anti-China wave that had been building since the confrontation.
https://twitter.com/akshaykumar/status/1301832896185954304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
A few days later, Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar announced FAU-G, Fearless And United Guards. A new game that would be developed in India by nCore Games. At launch, details were pretty vague with the game only described as an “action game” and that 20% of the net revenue generated will be donated to the Bharat Ke Veer Trust.
In an interview with The Mako Reactor a few days later, Vishal Gondal, Founder and Chairman at Ncore Games and Ganesh Hande, Co-Founder and COO at Ncore Games revealed more details about the game. As it turns out the game will not offer a battle royale mode, at least at launch. Instead, the game will offer a single player experience, with multiplayer co-op thrown in. We also learn that the game would be based on the Galwan Valley incident and would offer brawler-style combat with a focus on melee weapons. The announcement also created a slew of fake FAU: G apps on the play store
https://twitter.com/nCore_games/status/1320349542311620608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The first teaser for the game dropped in October and players got their first look at the game. The teaser dropped on Dussehra and promised that the game would launch in November. It confirmed that the game would be set in the Galwan Valley as well as the focus on melee combat. There were also hints of multiplayer co-op action as the teaser showed the teams of players taking on the enemy.
Following a relatively quiet period for almost the whole of November, the game was made available for pre-registration on the Google Play Store on the last day of the month. The listing also showed a screenshot of the game’s main menu. It also confirmed that FAU-G would feature in-game purchases and an in-game economy similar to games like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile and more, with a ‘free’ currency and a ‘premium’ currency. The game received over 1 million pre-registrations within a 24 hour period.
https://twitter.com/nCore_games/status/1345622556334702593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
A few days into the new year, nCore Games suddenly announced that the game would launch on January 26. The launch date makes sense considering that it is also India’s Republic Day. The announcement was also marked with another trailer for the game as well as its official anthem. Interestingly, this trailer included firearms, so we might get to see those in the game as well. For now, we just have to wait and see if the game is actually good or not. Hopefully, it's the former.
FAU-G was also one of the biggest mobile gaming stories of 2020 alongside the banning of PUBG Mobile. To know more about what mobile gaming news made headlines in 2020, click here.