Since its birth last year, BGMI has risen through the ranks and emerged as one of the biggest battle royale titles in the Indian mobile gaming market. Millions of players flock to experience the thrill of the BR mode daily.
To everyone's shock, the popular game was delisted from the Google Play Store yesterday (July 28), creating a great buzz in the Indian gaming community. To make matters worse, a few hours later, the Apple App Store followed suit.
While the delisting might be temporary, due to the Indian government's record of banning battle royale games, many fans are nervous about its uncertain future.
Why was BGMI pulled from Google Play Store and App Store?
Since last evening, players searching for Battlegrounds Mobile India on the Google Play Store have found it absent on the platform. Later, the game was delisted from the App Store, increasing concerns about its situation amongst fans.
Experts took to social media to unveil Google's statement on delisting the app from their store.
Hence, it can be deciphered that the government's order has led to the app's ban and delisting from various stores. With these developments, the entire Indian gaming community is heartbroken.
They are now waiting for Krafton to release an official response on the ongoing matter.
Despite all the recent events, the BR title is currently playable. However, depending on how the Government of India and Krafton's meeting unfolds, the servers may be taken down on the government's orders.
Besides that, in-game transactions are no longer available, and users who wish to purchase UC will not be able to do so.
Gamers and fans' reactions to potential BGMI ban
The suspension has elicited many responses from professional players, streamers, and gamers across the country.
Famous esports personalities managing the top BGMI teams in India have commented on the issue. They have expressed their concerns, outrage, and disappointment at the prospective ban.
Mortal, a popular Battlegrounds Mobile India competitive player and streamer, took to his Twitter handle to express his shock and sadness. Tagging the official government Twitter handle, he made a plea to make the BR title available again.
BGMI pro Jonathan also took to his livestream to talk about the matter. He mentioned that the title is yet to be banned, and it is due to security reasons that it has been delisted from the Google Play Store and App Store.
The star gamer urged his fans to stay positive and hoped the game would be available on the platforms soon.
Several other popular players, organization owners, and managers have also opined their views on the entire situation.
It remains to be seen in which direction the matter will take a turn. Fans around the country are hoping that the meeting between Krafton Inc. and the Indian government today results in the game returning to the virtual stores.