Krafton’s battle-royale game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) banned in India: Here’s Everything We Know

The Indian government has issued a ban on the popular battle royale game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) from South Korean game maker Krafton. Following the ban, the app has been removed by both Google and Apple app stores in India which has caused a huge social media uproar as the game has a very large player base in the country, with over 100 million registered users. The app was launched in India after the popular battle royale game PUBG Mobile was banned in the country, along with several other Chinese apps.

Google and Apple have confirmed that BGMI was delisted from their stores in accordance with an order from the Indian government. “On receipt of the order, following the established process, we have notified the affected developer and have blocked access to the app that remained available on the Play Store in India,” said a Google spokesperson.

On its part, Krafton has said that it is clarifying the ban with the Indian government. “We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play store and the App store and will let you know once we get specific information”, reads Krafton’s statement.

Why was BGMI banned in India?

While the Indian government has not given an explanation as to why it has banned BGMI, a report by Reuters has revealed that the government has banned BGMI under Section 69A of the IT Act, the same provision used to ban PUBG Mobile. Section 69A empowers the government to block public access to websites and apps in the interest of national security.

Even before its release, BGMI had come under criticism when it was found sharing data with Chinese servers. Krafton, the game developer, had claimed that it was aware of the issue and was working on resolving it. Chinese tech giant Tencent also has a 13.5% stake in Krafton. Tencent was the developer of PUBG Mobile, first released in China.

Can we still play BGMI in India?

Although BGMI has been delisted from the Play Store and the App Store, users who already have the game on their devices can still play it. Some users have reported that they faced server issues, but it looks like the game is mostly working fine.

In short, you should be able to play the game if you have it on your phone and as long as the servers are live. Krafton is reportedly trying to resolve the issue with the government, so you should be able to play the game for some time without any issues.