Pokemon GO global release status: Russia, China, India and Rest of Asia next?

Pokemon GO, Nintendo's smash-hit augmented-reality game has been finally launched in 42 new countries including Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa, Uganda and several other countries across Africa and South East Asia.

According to the latest update on the popular Reddit thread 'Pokemon GO Release Status – Global', the phenomenal AR game could see a delayed release in Russia, China, India and Rest of Asia. The information has been updated in line with the Pokemon GO launch status on Global Map and the crowd-sourced data posted by the veteran members of Pokemon community across the globe.

As of 5 October, the Pokemon GO has been made officially available in 31 new countries while 11 others were added on 2 October. Here is the complete list of 42 countries that are now live on Pokemon GO game servers:

Wednesday, 5 October

• Botswana
• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Cape Verde
• Cote d'Ivoire
• Chad
• Egypt
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea-Bissau
• Kenya
• Liberia
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Niger
• Rwanda
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• Swaziland
• Tanzania
• Togo
• Uganda
• Zambia

Sunday, 2 October

• Albania
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Macau
• Macedonia
• Serbia
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Tajikistan
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan
• Mongolia

When will Pokemon GO release in Russia, China, India and Rest of Asia?

There is still no official word on the release of Pokemon GO in Russia, China, India and the Rest of Asia. However, restless Pokemon fans in India are speculating a November release for the popular AR-game in the sub-continent.

Meanwhile, a few other members of the Pokemon GO community are predicting the Anniversary release for India on 7 October as the game has completed three months since its initial launch. Some Redditors are also speculating 7 October release for China and Korea.

Prospective Pokemon GO users can track the release status in various countries across the globe via live Twitter feed by Pokemon GO community and blog updates posted by Niantic.

Gujarat High Court contemplates ban on Pokemon GO

In related news, the Gujarat High Court has withheld its decision to ban the AR-game after some city-based petitioners filed a PIL asking the court to allow the game to be launched, as all the in-game action happens in a virtual world which does not really affect the religious sentiments of the people.

Earlier, some people of Hindu community had filed a PIL asking for a permanent ban on the game with the pretext that it hurts religious sentiments of the Hindus while some others pointed out safety concerns among the general public in India.

Avid Pokemon fans in India have resorted to illegal ways of accessing the game through pirated copies (APK files) and location spoofing methods, in the aftermath of a delayed release for the game in the country.

Consequently, the Gujarat court has asked the state government to take preventive measures against piracy and illegal downloading of the popular game and submit the list of actions taken to curb the menace, before Niantic could officially unveil the game in the sub-continent.

The state government lawyer has reportedly sought time to file a reply and hence the court has adjourned the hearing to 9 November.

Pokemon GO India launch in November?

If the court does clear the legal hassles with the Pokemon GO launch in India, there is a definite possibility that we could see the game releasing in the country as early as second week of November.

Pokemon GO geo-block status in India

Pokemon GO game servers are currently accessible via illegal APK files across several cities in the sub-continent. Here is the updated-list of cities and states with geo-blocks and those without geo-blocks in the country:

List of Cities

Note: "-" means it is geo blocked. "+" means it is partially blocked. "Yes!" means it works. "?" dont know.