Fact Check: Is COD Mobile banned in India? Game removed from App Store

COD Mobile, the popular battle royale title published by Activision, has been delisted from the Apple App Store today. This new development has taken the entire community by storm as the game continues to remain available on the Google Play Store.

Indian fans had been subjected to abrupt removals of this sort in the past. This undoubtedly brings back the nightmare of the bans placed on Free Fire and BGMI, which have caused havoc in the entire mobile gaming community.

Thus, this delisting has led to questions and rumors over whether the game is banned in India or not.

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Is COD Mobile banned in India?

The question of whether or not COD Mobile is restricted in India has a fairly straightforward response. Due to the fact that the game is no longer available on App Stores anywhere in the world, it can be quickly concluded that Activision's battle royale title is not explicitly banned in India but is not available to anyone in general.

A search brings no results for COD Mobile (Image via Apple App Store)

The query of why COD Mobile was removed through the store is echoed by gamers on multiple social media platforms as there is barely any clarity about the same. It has also spurred a discussion on the official subreddit and Discord server, where fans have posed similar questions.

Fortunately, users have not yet reported any issues with the services, regardless of the platform. As a result, all who have COD Mobile installed on iOS devices can continue to play the game without interruption.

Furthermore, in light of this withdrawal, many gamers believe that this is plainly an error. However, the availability of the battle royale title on the Google Play Store has given rise to a few serious questions.

Call of Duty Mobile is available on Google Play Store (Image via Google Play Store)

Due to this disparity in availability on the platforms, one possible explanation for this removal could be a violation of Apple's App Store guidelines. However, nothing can be said for sure about the reason.

As of the time this article was written, neither Apple nor Activision had issued an official statement addressing the matter, and thus there is no clear explanation for why this unfortunate event has occurred.

Thus, players are advised to wait for an official word rather than putting their faith in rumors.

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COD Mobile and its journey

The game earned more than $1.5 in revenue since its launch (Image via Activision)

Call of Duty Mobile has scaled incredible heights since its initial launch in 2019. It has become a juggernaut in the mobile battle royale segment with a thriving esports ecosystem, with Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship boasting a massive prize pool of $1.7 million.

The game surpassed 100 million downloads in the first week while surpassing the 500 million mark in a few months. COD Mobile also generated $1.5 billion in its lifetime revenue, highlighting the game's mass appeal among the audience.

For the time being, there is no clarity on whether the game will be available on the iOS platform. However, given its extensive audience, Activision will likely make every possible effort to reinstate the game back on iOS.