Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Krafton’s free-to-play battle royale that was exclusively released in India last year, has been banned. The game was removed from the Play Store and App Store on Thursday.
The reason behind the ban isn’t known but according to a Reuters report, it was banned under section 69A of the IT act. Google also said that it received an order from the 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,” the company said.
BGMI has been pulled from the Play Store because of a government order – a person familiar with the matter.
— Manish Singh (@refsrc) July 28, 2022
Following the ban, Krafton released a statement saying “We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play Store and the Appstore and will let you know once we get specific information.”
BGMI ban impact on Indian esports
Battlegrounds Mobile India commanded a massive following (over 100 million users) of both casual and professional athletes in the country and the sudden ban has surely come as a shock to them.
Really comes as a shocker because the Growth of Esports in India has been tremendous.
All will come down to a stop if something happens to BGMI(Top esports game in India)
Trust will be broken.
People who HOPED, will remain hopeless.
I hope you look into the matter @GoI_MeitY— MortaL (@Mortal04907880) July 28, 2022
For now, there’s nothing much to do than wait for an official statement regarding the ban from the government.
