BGMI Ban: Krafton agrees to ‘closely cooperate’ with the Indian Govt. to bring back BGMI
Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was recently banned by the Indian government over concerns regarding data security. BGMI is one of the most popular battle royale games in the country. Previously, the Indian government had banned several apps, including PUBG Mobile, but they resurfaced in India with different avatars but with no servers in the country.
The Indian government banned BGMI under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The PUBG: Battlegrounds (previously known as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds), also a subsidiary of Krafton, was banned in 2020 for similar reasons, along with 100 other apps and games that had servers in China.
The government had ordered Google and Apple to ban BGMI, following which some gaming companies wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, requesting “fair treatment” to help foster the gaming ecosystem in the country.
Krafton CFO Bae Dong-Geun, during the company’s quarterly earnings call, said that the company respects and understands the Indian government’s concern. He said,
“We have been directly running the service based on stringent data security standards and monitoring. We will closely cooperate with the authorities to find ways for the users in India to keep enjoying BGMI.”
The company, previously, had shared a statement about the BGMI ban in India, saying that it is working with the Indian government to relaunch the game.
During the earnings call, Dong-Geun further added,
“In the second quarter, we broadened the user base through own and offline collaborations in the local market and expanded monetised content offerings, providing a battle royale experience unique to BGMI.”
Krafton’s revenue had grown close to $727.7 million, while its net income had increased by $337.6 million in the first six months of 2022. It remains to be seen whether Krafton will be able to bring back BGMI in India.
Skyesports CEO Shiva Nandy recently mentioned that the BGMI ban is not permanent and there’s a chance that it will be coming back soon. Nandy said the ban was not immediate and the process had taken almost five months.
An interim notice was sent to Krafton by the government just one week before the ban. Nandy further mentioned that
“According to sources, Tik Tok is all set to make a comeback. In that case, BGMI will be back 100 per cent.”
The ban on Battlegrounds Mobile India, which is the Indian version of PUBG, has resulted in a top e-sports event being postponed amid reports claiming there to be a ‘China connection’ behind the ban. Owing to this, the Esports Premier League (ESPL) Season 2 has been rescheduled.