It looks like Krafton can’t catch a break in India. After the ban on PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) in September 2020, the South Korean company severed ties with Chinese peer Tencent and created a brand new game Battle Ground Mobile India, and launched it exclusively in the Sub-continent.
It was an instant hit and successfully managed to fill the void left by the ban on PUBG.
Within a short span of time, it was able to grow fast and even breached the 100 million (one crore) active user base.
However, just like PUBG, BGMI also began to face backlash from NGOs and people’s representatives as parents complained about youngsters mostly adolescents (13-19 age group) losing focus on studies and were addicted to BGMI gaming all day.
On Thursday night, out of the blue, Google and Apple took down the BGMI from their respective platforms Play Store and App Store in India.
It has come to light that the Government of India asked the two companies to restrict the access of BGMI on Android and iOS phones.
DH reached out to Apple and Google for a response on the BGMI being dropped from their platforms.
“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,” said Google Spokesperson said.
Krafton also responded to the DH request for the response on BGMI's ban in India.
"We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play store and the App store and will let you know once we get specific information," Krafton spokesperson said.
We will update what Apple has to say on this issue as soon as we get the response.
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