Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) is the Indian version of PUBG Mobile, available only to Indian gamers. It is an online multiplayer battle royale game created and released by Krafton. Unfortunately, after being launched in India in July 2021, the game was pulled from both the Google Play Store and the App Store for IOS, a year later by the Indian government.
When and why was BGMI banned in India?
Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was released nearly a year after Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) was banned by the Indian Government after their two-year outlaw on many Chinese applications. This is because of a concern regarding national security and the statement further revealed that the ministry had gotten several complaints of misuse of apps on both Android and iOS platforms.
BGMI, on the other hand, was released in July 2021 by Krafton after they removed any links to any Chinese companies. However, analysts contend that the so-called "new avatar" of BGMI was exactly the same as PUBG since Tencent, a company located in China, continued to be in charge of it in the background.
As a result of the NGO Prahar’s protest, the government ordered both the Play Store and the App Store for iOS to remove the popular battle royale game from each of their respective app stores on July 28 2022. Nevertheless, the game is only available to individuals who have the application installed.
When will BGMI be unbanned in India?
According to reports, BGMI was scheduled to be re-released on both app stores in September 2022 and then again in December 2022, after the former failed to occur. Numerous eSports stakeholders, including OG ESports owner Yash Bhanushali, have made strong statements about a potential unban date.
Bhanushali predicts that the title will be reinstated by the end of March or early April 2023. Nevertheless, neither date has been verified or refuted by Krafton, and the business has made no indication about when the game might be unbanned. However, OS (OMEGA SLAYERS) Esports, a popular esports organization, has announced a third-party BGMI tournament, which will begin on March 3, 2023, with a prize pool of more than 3 lakhs.
Not only that, a few other competitions will most likely commence around the same time which when paired with Bhanushali's comments, has piqued fans' interest in the reasons for the abrupt adjustments. Furthermore, it has many wondering if the game could be unbanned before then.
Has there been any sign that BGMI may be unbanned?
The Indian authorities blocked Battlegrounds Mobile India, as well as its predecessor PUBG Mobile, due to data security concerns. Nonetheless, Krafton's recent choice to introduce new content, which was later removed from the game's event section, has been recognized as a sign. This was confirmed by a Twitter user, although the added events were subsequently withdrawn, which heightened the intrigue of many fans.
since July 2022
Today, Krafton included new events in BGMI. However, the game has been removed from Google Play & App Store in India 🇮🇳 since July 2022 https://t.co/R8qDeuaSma
This was due to the fact that it was the first time BGMI had received patch upgrades since the July 2022 ban. This, together with speculations of a possible re-release date of April 2023, has reignited hope that BGMI will return to India and the app stores.
