BGMI ban: Companies ask Prime Minister Modi for "uniform and fair treatment"

After the Government of India banned the Krafton-backed shooter title, BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India), many gaming companies requested that the Government of India treat them uniformly and fairly.

The request was with regard to the unprecedented decisions implemented by the government that have gravely affected many companies over the years. In 2020, a plethora of applications, including PUBG Mobile and TikTok, were blocked in the country citing security concerns. More recently, in February 2022, Garena's Free Fire, alongside 53 other apps, was also handed a ban.

Thus, the concerns shared by the group are genuine, which is why they have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Readers can find additional details regarding the same in the article below.

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A group of gaming companies write to the Indian PM Modi, sharing their concerns after the BGMI ban

Expressing their concerns after the ban of the Krafton-backed game, a group of game companies, including the signatures of founders of Story Pix, Lucid Labs, Roach Interactive, Outlier Games, Uniplay Digital, and Godspeed Games, sent a letter to PM Modi.

The topic of discussion was the recent BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India) ban, which the letter heralded as an "unfortunate event." It also spoke about the demerits of such decisions, as they deny opportunities to the Indian youth. The letter brought up the fact that currently, India is "lagging significantly in creating high skilled entrepreneurs."

They ended their letter by asking for "uniform and fair treatment," stipulating:

"While capital and infrastructure are critical to the survival and development of the industry, the leading global video gaming companies with their experience and next-generation technology are needed for establishing a robust gaming eco-system in India. Therefore, we seek a uniform and fair treatment of all entities operating in India."

For the unversed, the Indian variant of PUBG Mobile, BGMI, was launched in the country in July 2021. However, a year later, on 28 July, Google and Apple suddenly took down Battlegrounds Mobile India from their respective app stores.

The ban was confirmed via various reports as it was later revealed that the Government of India had restricted the game under Section 69A of their IT Act. It was also alleged that the popular game was guilty of collecting and sharing user data with its China Servers.

However, Krafton, in their official statement, has denied such allegations.