Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was banned in India by the government of the country and fans are eagerly waiting for an official announcement from the game’s publisher Krafton. The game was banned back in July 2022 and while there are rumors surrounding the game’s re-release, very little official information is available. Here is what Krafton had to say about the game’s return following the ban.
Krafton’s official statement on BGMI’s ban in India
Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton Inc India, made an in July 2022 stating that the publisher is committed to the Indian market and is positive about the opportunities in the country. He said, “We at KRAFTON, Inc. the security and privacy of our user data is 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.”
BGMI was reportedly banned by the Indian government under section 69A of the IT Act. BGMI in the first week of July 2022 surpassed 100 million which made it India’s most popular battle royale game.
Sohn 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 of 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 requested the playerbase to wait to hear from Krafton and promised updates but we have not seen a public comment from the publisher since then. During August 2022’s quarterly earnings meeting, Krafton CFO Bae Dong-geun made a regarding the ban.
He stated, “We fully respect and understand the Indian government’s concern and as we have been directly running the service based on stringent data security standards and monitoring. We will closely cooperate with the authorities to find ways for the users in India to keep enjoying BGMI.”
During the , Krafton’s CFO Dongkeun Bae noted that BGMI’s suspension has negatively affected the mobile division of the company. He acknowledged the difficulties faced by the mobile division of Krafton in 2022 and added that it was a challenging year for the company. “Looking at the mobile side, due to global recession and also the impact coming from re-opening (lifting of lockdowns), an overall depressed economic backdrop, as well as the fact that the services were suspended for BGMI in India – the year 2022 was a very difficult operational year for us,” he added.
He said that Krafton is still committed to bringing back the game to India but has not given an estimated timeline for BGMI’s return yet. In-game purchases have been disabled and fans are eagerly waiting for an official announcement. If you want to know more about why the game was banned in India, check out our comprehensive coverage of the .
