India has soft-banned BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India), a rather surprising
turn of events. Both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store have removed the game from the country, and both iOS and Android devices cannot download it. Officially, Google has stated that the removal of the game came as a result of a direct order from the government. However, those who have installed the game on their devices can still access the BGMI servers and play the game.
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| Image Source - Google | Image by - Aniket Thakkar |
BGMI's developer, Krafton, confirmed the removal and said, “We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play Store and Apple App Store, and we will inform you when we receive specific information.” Looking at Google, the company said, BGMI was removed from the store upon receiving an order from the Indian government, “In accordance with the established procedure, we notified the affected developer and blocked access to the app in India.”
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reasons still unknown -
We wait for either the Indian government or Krafton Inc. to make an official announcement regarding the new (soft) ban, but those who already have the game installed still have time to play some Team Death Matches before the game completely disappears (or comes back).
Over 100 apps linked to China have also been banned by the government. Krafton's PUBG remains the only app that returns, after being completely revamped with a completely new avatar. Krafton has claimed that BGMI and PUBG are completely different games.
Reasons figured out by us -
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar recently stated that law enforcement agents are examining a "media claim that a child has killed his mother based on PUBG that he has been playing." "According to media reports, a child killed his mother because he was playing PUBG. The reason for this is being investigated by LEAs (Law Enforcement Agencies). However, MeitY disabled the PUBG gaming app in 2020, and the PUBG game has not been available in India since then "Chandrasekhar responded in writing. According to the written response, there have been reports and complains of banned apps reappearing in new avatars with similar-sounding names, which have been referred to the home ministry for investigation.
Earlier this year, PRAHAR, a non-profit group focused on socioeconomic development, wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) requesting a ban on BGMI under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. According to the NGO, the app should be prohibited since it threatens India's sovereignty and integrity. According to the letter, Krafton, the South Korean studio that produces BGMI, is a front company for Tencent Holdings, China's top internet company.