After being banned last year in the month of July, Krafton the owner producer of the game Battlegrounds Mobile India is coming back to Android’s Play Store and iOS app stores. The game has always had a loyal fanbase since those days when its name was PUBG (Players Unknown Battle Grounds ), in fact this was one of the first game which boomed e-gaming in India during COVID period and actually produced opportunities for gamers to represent their country outside on an international level competing with the best of players in the world. Young Gamers started inspiring their age groups while pursuing gaming as a streaming profession and gaining popularity and followers on their social media handles.
Now, Krafton has confirmed that the game is actually making a return, mere days after a report revealed ongoing talks between the developer and Indian officials.
“We are highly grateful to the Indian authorities for allowing us to resume operations of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). We would like to extend our gratitude to our Indian gaming community for their support and patience over the past few months. We are excited to announce that Battlegrounds Mobile India will be available for download soon and we cannot wait to welcome you back to our platform.”
Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India said in an interview.
The game was banned in July 2022 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) due to data security issues. Now, after almost one year, the game is confirmed to be available in India, which has undoubtedly given a ray of hope to the Indian mobile gaming community. The developers are trying their best to comply with the Indian government’s norms, meaning there will be a lot of tweaks in the game. Moreover, By providing a healthy atmosphere, Krafton also intends to support the growth of Indian Esports.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and IT has clarified that the final decision to allow the video game BGMI to return to the country will only be taken. The minister stated that the Indian government will keep a close watch on other issues of user harm, addiction, and more in the upcoming months (3 trial months) before a final decision of making the game legal for the community.
“This is a three-month trial approval of BGMI after it has complied with issues of server locations and data security, etc.”
At the time of the ban, PUBG had amassed an impressive user base of nearly 33 million in India, experiencing rapid growth. The BGMI game was officially released on July 2 for Android devices and subsequently on August 18 for iOS devices after Krafton’s announcement in May 2021. The BGMI exceeded 100 million registered users in just one year, marking an incredible milestone.
