BGMI banned? Battlegrounds Mobile India delisted from Google Play and Apple App Store
Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) has mysteriously disappeared from India-specific Google Play and Apple Store.
In Short
- PUBG New State still remains available in India.
- BGMI maker Krafton says it is investigating the matter.
- PUBG Mobile remains banned in India since 2020.
Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) has mysteriously disappeared from India-specific Google Play and Apple App Store. The game was launched last year after its previous iteration, PUBG Mobile, was banned by the Indian government in 2020 due to security reasons. At the time of writing, PUBG New State, which is developed by BGMI's maker, Krafton, is available to download on both Google Play and Apple App Store.
The timing of the removal is not coincidental as an issue related to BGMI was raised in the Rajya Sabha recently. Lawmakers were discussing whether action titles have harmful effects on children. The upper house was discussing a media report that stated "child has killed his mother based on PUBG that he has been playing". The incident took place in Lucknow last month.
According to PTI, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on July 22 said law enforcement agencies are investigating the matter. The minister also assured that its previous iteration, PUBG Mobile, remains banned in India from 2020.
Meanwhile, a company representative told India Today Tech, "We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from the Google Play store and the App store and will let you know once we get specific information".
A Google spokesperson also told India Today Tech, "On receipt of the order, following established process, we have notified the affected developer and have blocked access to the app that remained available on the Play Store in India".
At the time of writing this article, users who already have BGMI installed on their smartphones are still able to play the game. However, the company rolled out an update recently, which is worrying players over its potential ban.
Last year, when BGMI made its return to India, the maker, Krafton, said that it severed ties with China-based Tencent and data of Indian users would be safeguarded. The company had also tied up with Microsoft for Azure to host BGMI. Azure is Microsoft's public cloud computing service, empowering game creators to build, run, and grow their games on a global scale.