BGMI Ban: Is PUBG’s Indian Avatar Taken Down For Good in 2022?
After roughly two years, PUBG was prohibited in India, and the gaming community in that country had a “chicken dinner.” Now that the game’s Indian adaptation, Battlegrounds Mobile India, or BGMI, has also abruptly been pulled down in the nation, many doubts remain.
A year after PUBG was outlawed in India, the game’s South Korean creator Krafton created an Indian adaptation of the hit battle royale title.
Millions of downloads and active users show that the Indian gaming community well received BGMI.
FAUG, a smartphone game made by nCore Games, was hyped up to be launched in India to fill the hole left by PUBG but fell short of the excitement
But now that the game has been removed from both the Google Play store and the Apple App store in response to the government’s directive, it appears that Krafton’s BGMI may have also provoked issues.
Many of the younger players, who play this game frequently, were surprised by the short order.
BGMI banned in India for ‘data sharing’ concerns
India has banned the game Battlegrounds Mobile by Krafton (BGMI). On July 28, 2022, Google and Apple, owned by Alphabet Inc., removed the Krafton game under Indian government orders. This change occurred a year after the nation outlawed the popular video game PUBG.
Since 2020, the Indian government has prohibited more than 100 Chinese apps, including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, from the Chinese publisher Tencent Games (PUBG).
The Indian version of Tencent’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), BGMI, has recently topped 100 million registered users. A year ago, the Krafton game was resurrected in India as BGMI in response to the gamers’ fervent demand.
On September 2, 2020, BGMI, one of the most well-known Chinese apps, underwent a rebranding and relaunch due to the Indian government’s ban on PUBG mobile.
The Indian government has blacklisted more than 270 apps because they may have been used to steal the data of Indian users and provide it to Chinese organizations.
Several of these apps returned to India with new branding and identities as their rival applications tried to swoop in and fill the gap left by others.
After the prohibition on Garena Free Fire, the company also created the Garena Free Fire Max, which is similar to PUBG and BGMI’s New State for Indian gamers.
According to reports, a 16-year-old boy recently killed his mother while playing PUBG. The teenager had developed an addiction to the Krafton game. He felt enraged when his mother warned him to stop playing the game and punished him. He killed his mother on June 4, 2022, with his father’s legitimately owned firearm.
An earlier request for a ban on BGMI under section 69A of the Information Technology Act came from PRAHAR, a nonprofit organization that promotes the socio-economic development of society. The Ministries of Home Affairs and Information Technology received the letter.
According to a significant Oxford University study, the short-term mental health impact of playing video games “is probably too modest” to be seen.
What Krafton and Google Said
The authorities formally ordered the removal of the game from Google. Following the established procedure, the business said, “On receipt of the order, we have notified the impacted developer and have terminated access to the app that was still available on the Play Store in India.”
The removal of BGMI from the Google Play shop and the App store was also confirmed by Krafton, who added, “We are clarifying how BGMI was taken from Google Play store and the App store and will let you know as we have specific information.”
How Many Users Does The BGMI Game Have?
PUBG Mobile was updated and released as BGMI throughout the nation last year. In less than a year since it was first introduced as BGMI, BGMI recently reached 100 million registered users nationwide.
Why Has BGMI Been Shut Down?
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar took notice of the recent incident in which a youngster killed his mother due to PUBG addiction; it is currently unknown if the mobile game has been banned in India and the possible cause.
In a written response to the Rajya Sabha, he added that PUBG was outlawed in 2020 and is not available in the nation. However, there have been reports and complaints of prohibited apps resurfacing in new forms with names that seem similar.
The only app that returned was Krafton’s BGMI, even though it had an entirely new look and feel out of the hundreds New Delhi had banned in the nation.
After cutting ties with Tencent, Krafton announced plans to invest $100 million in India. The South Korean-based company has consistently emphasized the distinction between BGMI and PUBG and the fact that procedures have been put in place to deal with any unauthorized use of its games.
Krafton stated that in the previous month, it had cancelled 25 lakh accounts in an effort to combat cheating on its popular game.
A 16-year-old teenager recently shot and killed his mother after she reprimanded him for his PUBG addiction.
After that, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology received a letter from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) inquiring how a game the Indian government had restricted was still accessible to children.
The Commission also wanted to understand why such prohibited programs were still accessible online.
When was PUBG Mobile banned in India, and why?
On September 2, 2020, the government outlawed PUBG Mobile. Following a battle between Indian and Chinese soldiers in eastern Ladakh, the government of India decided to prohibit the mobile app due to security reasons.
It was reissued after ten months under the name Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). However, it appears that the government is also looking into the Indian version of the game.
Why Are Chinese Entities Facing Stiff Scrutiny In India?
After the military standoff between India and China, Chinese firms in India have come under government scrutiny.
Nearly 224 Chinese apps, including TikTok, WeChat, Shareit, and PUBG, have been outlawed by the government since 2020.
According to Bloomberg, which cited a source with knowledge of the situation, the ministry of corporate affairs has also begun the process of scrutinizing the financial records of more than 500 Chinese enterprises.
This comprises Xiaomi, Oppo, Huawei Technologies, ZTE, and Vivo, in addition to ZTE and Vivo. Limited, etc
According to the Enforcement Directorate, Vivo‘s Indian division allegedly transported Rs 62,476 crore “illegally” to China early this month to avoid paying taxes in India (ED).
A few days later, Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited was found to have evaded customs duties to the tune of around Rs 4,389 crore.
On the grounds that the company had violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by moving money abroad illegally while acting as a royalty provider, the ED froze Xiaomi’s accounts containing more than Rs 5,500 crore a few weeks ago.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
