After 10-month ban, BGMI is returning to India; Krafton confirms
What's the story
Krafton has confirmed that Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) will be reintroduced and made available for download in India soon.
According to the Korean publisher, the Indian government has approved them to resume operations of the battle-royale game.
To recall, BGMI was banned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in July last year due to privacy and security concerns.
Scenario
Initially, it will be back for three months
BGMI was pulled from Play Store and App Store under Section 69 of the IT Act.
Now, according to a report from News18, the battle royale title will initially return for three months, which will serve as a trial period, allowing MeitY to monitor the game and its publisher's policies to make sure they do not infringe on rules set by the government.
Official statement
'Highly grateful to Indian authorities'
Talking about the development, Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO at Krafton India said, "We are highly grateful to the Indian authorities for allowing us to resume operations of Battlegrounds Mobile India."
"We would like to extend our gratitude to our Indian gaming community for their support and patience over the past few months," he added.
BGMI will be available for download soon.
Launch
BGMI was launched in July 2021
Krafton released BGMI on July 2, 2021, for Android devices. It was made available for iOS users in the same year on August 18.
Over the course of its existence, BGMI attracted millions of gamers and enjoyed massive growth in the Indian market.
However, it was later banned in July 2022, due to security concerns and its adverse impact on children's behavior.
Ban
Why was BGMI banned in India?
BGMI came under scrutiny after reports revealed that the game accumulates data that "can be misused like location, audio, and access to other critical information."
In addition, an NGO called PRAHAR petitioned the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and MeitY to ban BGMI.
The game was also reportedly noticed communicating with Chinese servers.
More
The game will be re-introduced with several modifications
BGMI is said to be returning with several revisions.
It may include a time limit in order to restrict the number of hours a gamer could play.
Expect several changes to the game's gore effects as well.
A setting that allows players to change the color of blood to blue or green through the in-game settings, will also be available.