The government has issued a ban on the favored battle royale game Battlegrounds Mobile India from South Korean game maker Kraft on. The app has been removed by both Apple and Google app stores in India. While the app is not any longer listed on Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the govt so far has not made any statement on the banning of the app. Both the ministry of home affairs and also the ministry of electronics information technology haven't officially said anything about the ban on the app.
What did Google say about the issue
Google spokesperson confirmed that the app has been delisted after orders from the govt "On receipt of the order, following the established process, we've notified the affected developer and have blocked access to the app that remained available on the Play Store in India," said Google during a statement from Google.
What did Kraft on say about the issue
Kraft on its part said that it's clarifying the ban with the government. "We are clarifying how the app was faraway from Google Play Store and the App store and will let you know once we get specific information," reads Kraft in a statement.
How PUBG became Battle Grounds Mobile India
App removal comes almost two years after the ban on PUBG. The favored Chinese game was banned along with 100-plus other apps in September 2020. PUBG ban for its affiliation with Chinese publisher Tencent Games. These apps, as per the govt, were engaged in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of the country also posing serious threat to Security of the State and defense of India. The govt said that these apps can carry out espionage and surveillance activities via camera/mic, accessing fine location (GPS) and do malicious network activity almost like previously blocked apps.
The ban on PUBG was a severe blow for Kraft on as India was one among the biggest markets for the game maker. There have been various PUBG tournaments organized in India. Post the ban on PUBG, Kraft to cut its ties with Tencent Games. The corporate announced that China's Tencent Games would no longer be authorized to distribute the PUBG MOBILE franchise in India. In July 2021, Kraft on launched a game with the tagline 'India's Battle Grounds'. Earlier this month, the sport hit 100 million registrations mark in India on Google Play Store.
Fans on this issue
BGM I fan want the Indian government to reinstate the game in the country and are looking for a reasonable explanation for its abrupt removal. “The sudden removal is probably aiming towards a blanket ban. This decision will only hurt the gaming ecosystem,” Prasad, founding father of gaming community Oprah. He said both Free fire and BGM I, the very best games played in the country, were removed during an identical manner. So, banning it doesn’t add up to me. The game may be available after the data issues cleared in India. The cases are under progress. Judgement will be declared soon.
For those unaware (which is very unlikely), BGM I was introduced specifically for India following the ban of its global counterpart, PUBG Mobile. PUBG Mobile was banned alongside a number of other apps and games, which had their roots in China, because the apps were allegedly sending the user data over Chinese servers and were a threat to national security. After a series of discussions, negotiations, and what not, the developers managed to (sort of) sneak in additional or less the same game, albeit with a replacement name.
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