BGMI taken down from the App Store and Google Play Store

After PUBG Mobile was banned in India, South Korean game developer Krafton returned to the market after a year by relaunching the same game with slight changes under the name Battlegrounds Mobile India, or BGMI. However, it appears that BGMI has also been blacklisted in India.

BGMI is a rebranded version of PUBG, which was outlawed by the Indian government in 2020 along with a plethora of other Chinese-origin applications. The 2020 prohibition came amid rising tensions between the two countries along a disputed Himalayan frontier. Throughout the year, India banned applications with Chinese connections such as WeChat Work and TikTok in stages.

While no official announcement has been issued by the IT ministry, the BGMI game has been reported to have been withdrawn from both the Google Play and Apple App stores.

Krafton also verified the news, saying, “We are confirming how BGMI was removed from Google Play and the App store and will let you know once we get precise information.”

Concerns were raised, about Krafton exchanging Indian customers’ personal data with foreign nations, particularly China, and about its ownership patterns, since a company owned by China’s Tencent is among Krafton’s top shareholders.

The government has not formally stated why the game is prohibited in India. However, Google India revealed that they had received a government order to remove the BGMI game. While the game has been withdrawn from app stores, if you already have it installed on your smartphone, you will be able to play it until it is no longer possible.

“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,” stated Google India.

The elimination of BGMI might have far-reaching consequences for India’s esports scene, especially if the title is not reinstated. While the Indian counterpart has not achieved the same immediate success as PUBG: Mobile, it remains one of the country’s most popular esports titles. Battlegrounds Mobile India Pro Series Season 1 attracted 304,700 watchers. Also BGMI has not been fully cut off from the bigger PUBG: Mobile esports scene. Following their BGMI Pro Series triumph, Team Soul has been invited to the forthcoming PUBG Mobile World Invitational 2022.

Lokesh Suji, Director of the Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF), argues it is too early to comment on the matter until the government provides an explanation.

“India is paving its path to becoming a multi-sport nation where every sport is getting the right visibility, audience and investment to grow. We have to reflect the same in Esports where we need to start giving exposure to multi Esports titles and not limited to one,” Suji said.

PRAHAR, an NGO, petitioned the government in February 2022 to restrict the Chinese gaming app BGMI-PUBG and add it to the list of 54 Chinese applications banned on February 14, 2022, citing its exclusion as a “clear lapse of judgement on the side of the Government.” It is not clear yet whether the removal would be permanent.