The government has yet to issue an official statement explaining why BGMI is banned in India, but the fact that it has forced Google and Apple to remove the BGMI game from their respective app stores via an order citing Section 69A of the IT Act indicates that the government regards the BGMI game as a cyber threat.
As per the sources, a senior government official said that the BGMI app has been discovered to be connecting with servers based in China, either directly or indirectly. According to a senior government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the analysis also revealed that this application contains malicious code and obtains a slew of critical permissions that could be exploited for compromising user data for surveillance via camera/microphone, location tracking, and malicious network activities.
Why BGMI was Banned?
Although the Indian government has not stated why BGMI has been banned, Reuters reports that the government has banned BGMI using Section 69A of the IT Act, the same provision that was used to prohibit PUBG Mobile. In the best interests of national security, Section 69A allows the government to ban public access to websites and apps.
Even before it was released, BGMI was criticized for exchanging data with Chinese servers. Krafton, the game creator, stated that they were aware of the problem and were trying to resolve it. Tencent, the Chinese digital titan, also owns 13.5 percent of Krafton. Tencent created PUBG Mobile, which was first released in China.
There’s no doubting that BGMI will have to adapt to local rules to do business in India, but what’s fascinating is that Krafton anticipated this would happen sooner or later. This could be why the BGMI game was distributed as an APK file on the BGMI official website. If we expect to be able to download the APK file now (after the ban), we’ll be disappointed because Krafton has taken it down. We can, however, obtain it from official APK websites.
Statement from Krafton India
Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India, has now given a formal statement regarding the BGMI ban. He comforted supporters by underlining that the security and privacy of user information are of the greatest priority to them and that they are working with the relevant authorities to rectify the issue.
What users thought was a technical mistake after BGMI was removed from Google Play turned out to be their greatest nightmare, as the battle royale game was banned in the country. Players have been waiting for an official message from the devs for quite some time, and they now have one.
Rushindra Sinha, the owner of Global Esports, shared Krafton India CEO’s statement, which goes like this: “Dear Patron of BGMI, we are committed to the Indian market and are positive about the opportunities in the country. At KRAFTON Inc., the security and privacy of our user data are of utmost importance to us. We have always been compliant with all laws and regulations in India, including data protection laws and regulations, and will continue abiding by them.”
The statement continued by expressing gratitude to gamers for their support of the battle royale game, and it added: “We thank you for all the love and support you have shown us in our journey up till here, and hope to continue our association in the future as well. There may be questions in your minds regarding the current situation about the country’s most loved game – BGMI. In line with this, we have been working hard to communicate our sincerity with the concerned authorities and resolve the issues.”
Sohn pleaded with the game’s user base to exercise patience: “We kindly request you to wait to hear from us. We will keep you informed about further updates. We look forward to strengthening our partnerships and collectively fostering the gaming ecosystem in India.”
The community of the game felt some hope after hearing the statement. If everything goes according to plan, BGMI may soon be back on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The esports community as a whole, who have been anxious since the game’s disappearance, would also feel a great deal of relief. Players currently have little choice except to wait for official updates and avoid spreading rumors.
The Bottom Line
With organizations like Nodwin Gaming, Elo Sports, and Red Bull holding tournaments with sizable prizes, BGMI was starting to gain popularity as an eSports game in India. It’s difficult to know if the ban is permanent or just a brief suspension to check compliance with Indian legislation because the government hasn’t issued a comment on the matter. If we think back to the PUBG Mobile ban from 2020, the government did not lift the restriction.
Players who already have BGMI installed on their smartphones can still play it even though it is no longer available on the Play Store and the App Store. Although some players have claimed to have had server problems, it appears that the game is generally functioning well.
As long as the servers remain operational, we should be able to play the game. You should be able to play the game for a while without any problems because Krafton is supposedly working with the government to find a solution to the problem.
