BGMI Ban: Is PUBG’s Indian Avatar Taken Down For Good?

It’s been about two years that the gaming community in India has had a ‘chicken dinner’ after PUBG was banned in India. Now, its Indian version – Battlegrounds Mobile India or BGMI – has also been taken down in the country all of a sudden, leaving several questions unanswered.

After PUBG was banned in India, its South Korean game developer Krafton developed an Indian version of the game a year later that resembled the popular battle royale game.  

BGMI was received well by the gaming community in India as the game saw millions of downloads and active users. 

To fill the void created by PUBG, FAUG – a mobile game developed by nCore Games was launched in India with much hype, but the game failed to live up to the expectations. 

But now it looks like Krafton’s BGMI has also invited trouble as the game has been blocked from both the Google Play store and the Apple App store after the government’s order. 

The sudden order came as a shock for many young gamers who regularly play this game. 

What Google And Krafton Said 

Google received an official order from the government to remove the game. The company said: “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.” 

Meanwhile, Krafton also confirmed the development and said, “We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play store and the App store and will let you know once we get specific information.” 

How Many Users Does The BGMI Game Have? 

BGMI was launched in the country last year as a rehashed version of PUBG Mobile. BGMI recently crossed 100 million registered users in the country in just about a year after it was launched as BGMI. 

Why BGMI Has Been Taken Down? 

It is not clear so far if the BGMI mobile game has been banned in India and what are the possible reasons for it, however, a few days ago, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar had taken note of the incident in which a boy killed his mother due to PUBG addiction. 

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, he also said there are reports and grievances of banned apps appearing in new avatars using similar-sounding names that have been forwarded to the home ministry for examination, adding that PUBG was banned in 2020 and is not available in the country. 

Of the hundreds of apps that New Delhi has banned in the country, Krafton’s BGMI was the only title that made a return — though with a completely revamped avatar. 

Krafton had cut ties with Tencent and pledged to invest $100 million in India. The South Korea-headquartered company has repeatedly stated that BGMI and PUBG are different games and said the firm had put in place safeguards to address any misuse of its titles. 

Krafton said that it had removed 25 lakh accounts in the past month in a bid to do away with cheating on its popular game. 

A few weeks ago, a 16-year-old boy shot dead his mother for scolding him over his PUBG addiction. 

Following this, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) wrote to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asking how a banned game in India, which has been blocked by the Government of India, is still available for use by minors. 

The Commission also sought to know the reasons for the availability of such blocked applications over the internet. 

When And Why Was PUBG Mobile Banned In India? 

PUBG Mobile was banned by the Government on September 2, 2020. The mobile game was banned in India over security concerns by the government after a clash between soldiers of the Indian and Chinese armies in eastern Ladakh. 

Within ten months, it was relaunched as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). 

But it seems the Indian version of the game has also fallen under the government’s scrutiny. 

Why Chinese Entities Are Facing Stiff Scrutiny In India?   

Chinese entities in India have been under the government’s scanner after the standoff between the militaries of India and China. 

Since 2020, the government has banned nearly 224 Chinese apps, including TikTok, WeChat, Shareit, PUBG, among others. 

The ministry of corporate affairs has also started the process of inspecting books of accounts of more than 500 Chinese companies, Bloomberg reported quoting a person with knowledge of the matter. 

Apart from ZTE and Vivo, this includes Xiaomi, Oppo, Huawei Technologies, Alibaba.com India E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd., etc. 

Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the Indian arm of Vivo had sent Rs 62,476 crore "illegally" to China in order to avoid payment of taxes in India. 

Just a few days later, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) detected customs duty evasion of around Rs 4,389 crore by Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited. 

A few weeks ago, ED froze Xiaomi's accounts with over Rs 5,500 crore alleging that it violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by illegally transferring money abroad under the guise of royalty payments.