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Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was released in 2021 as India's own variant of the popular game PUBG Mobile, which was banned by the Indian government in 2020. BGMI saw a meteoric rise in terms of popularity, amassing over 100 million downloads within a year of its release.
However, the game's steep rise was halted by its sudden removal from the virtual stores of Google and Apple on 28 July, 2022. The popular company acted on the orders of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), who decided to block the game due to concerns over privacy breach of user data.
MeitY confirms BGMI has been blocked under Section 69A of IT Act
Replying to an RTI filed by Twitter user GodYamarajOP, MeitY stated that it acted on the requests of designated nodal officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). They blocked BGMI under the provision of section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 as well as the Information Technology (Procedure and safeguards for blocking access of public information) Rules, 2009.
Based on the rules, Section 69A of IT Act, 2000 empowers the Government of India to provide directions to block information from public access via any computer.
In the same reply, MeitY confirmed that a confidential meeting took place between them and the game's developers, Krafton India. However, since Rule 16 of the IT Act, 2000 prohibits the sharing of information about any requests/complaints and their actions, details of the meeting can't be shared.
Krafton's CEO says they have abided by all the rules set by the India Government
Till date, a few official statements from Krafton have surfaced online. The initial statement arrived on July 30, from Krafton India's CEO, Sean Hyunil Sohn, who highlighted the company's desire to help with the progress of esports and gaming in India.
Sean mentioned that Krafton has always focused on the security and privacy of user data. According to him, the company has abided by all the rules set by the Indian government, including data protection laws and regulations, and will continue to do so in the future.
He assured gamers that Krafton would find a solution and thanked them for their unwavering support. Requesting players to remain patient, Sean mentioned that the company will inform them about any further updates regarding the suspension of BGMI.
Meanwhile, Krafton's CFO, Bae Dong-geun, presided over Krafton's '2022 Q2 results' conference call where he stated that the company is trying its best to get the title back to the virtual stores.
Dong-geun seconded Sean and stressed that the company has always followed the privacy policies laid out by the government. He further mentioned that Krafton strictly operates on "rigid data security standards and monitoring."
BGMI remains blocked from the Google and Apple virtual stores
As of today, the Battle Royale title remains blocked from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. However, the match servers are still functioning, and millions of users across the country are flocking to play BGMI on a daily basis.
Many popular YouTubers like NinjaJOD, Dynamo, Hector, Snax, and Kani Gaming are livestreaming the title.
However, breaking the hearts of users, the latest 2.2 update was not added to the Indian variant. To make things worse, the Royal Pass (RP) section was also locked on 20 September, hinting that the new M15 and the upcoming M16 RPs may not be incorporated into the game.Battlegrounds Mobile India users may have to play the existing modes, introduced in the 2.1 update, for the next two months.
