Highlights
• After reaching 100 million users, BGMI is no longer available in the Apple and Google app stores.
• The alleged activity took place immediately after the Indian government’s directive.
• For current users, BGMI is operating without any issues.
While the IT ministry has not yet made an official announcement. But the BGMI game was taken down from both the Google store and the Apple app store.
Following the ban on PUBG mobile in India, the South Korean game developer Krafton returned to the Indian market a year later with a relaunch of the same title with an alternate name as Battlegrounds Mobile India. However, it appears that BGMI is banned in India.
Although the IT ministry doesn’t give any official statement. But as per reports, BGMI disappears from Google Play and the Apple App store. The removal of BGMI from the Google play store and the App store was explained by Krafton, who also confirmed the news, adding, “we will let you know as we have specific information.”
The current users can play the game who already have the game installed on their smartphones until it’s complete ban in India, even though the game has been taken down from app stores.
Google has acknowledged that it has an official order from the government to take the game down. The statement read: “Upon receiving the order, in accordance with the established procedure, we have contacted the concerned developer and have disabled access to the software that remained on the play store in India.”
After being relaunched as Battlegrounds mobile India (BGMI) after the Indian government banned the popular battle royale game PUBG Mobile, the game just reached the milestone of 100 million registered users in the nation.
The Chinese gaming app BGMI-PUBG was not included in the list of 54 Chinese apps that were banned on February 14, 2022, according to PRAHAR, an NGO, which urged the government to add it to the list and block it. This was cited as a “clear error in judgment on the part of the Government.”
IANS reported that the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, which is linked with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has backed Prahar’s move and called for an investigation into the origins and Chinese involvement of BGMI-PUBG.
On September 2, 2020, the Indian government outlawed PUBG mobile. It was reintroduced as Battlegrounds Mobile India after 10 months (BGMI). The largest of the Chinese apps that have successfully avoided detection by relaunching and rebranding with the same functionality is BGMI.
