By In the latest setbacks for South Korean Krafton game developers in India, India Battlegrounds (BGMI) Battle Game Battle Royale (BGMI) has been withdrawn from the Google Play Store and Apple Store. This step has added one more problem to the list of problems faced by game developers in India for years.
Although India has become a large market for BGMI or Indian version of India Battlegrounds (PUBG), the uncertainty of regulations has become a concern for South Korean developers.
The Krafton problem began in 2020 after a clash of violence between Chinese and Indian troops on the border. After the incident, the Indian government banned PUBG Mobile, along with other applications with Chinese connections, based on section 69A of the Information Technology Law (IT).
At that time, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) said that the application was “involved in activities that harm Indian sovereignty and integrity, Indian defense, state security and public order”.
For Krafton, India is one of the most significant markets for PUBG Mobile because it contributes the highest number of 734 MN global downloads in July 2020, according to the Sensor Tower report.
After the ban, Krafton broke the relationship with the Chinese giant Tencent Games, which published and distributed the PUBG mobile game in India before the ban, to re -enter India and eliminate government concerns.
After this, he launched BGMI in July 2021 in India, very helping gamers and the esports industry.
Reasons Behind the Latest Prohibition
Just like PUBG, the popularity of BGMI also skyrocketed in India, with the game touching 100 MN users registered in India in July 2022. However, the latest prohibition on this game is surprising for Krafton. BGMI was withdrawn from Google and Apple’s shop followed the government’s orders, although the reason was unclear, according to the report.
After this, Krafton’s shares fell in Korea on Friday, while the ban also came as a rough surprise for Indian gamers and eSports stakeholders. Because BGMI has led most of the eSports titles in India, the organizers of the tournaments, the eSports team, coaches, eSport athletes have been affected by these steps.
It must be noted that BGMI is under the supervision of the government even before it was officially launched in India. While the game aired for pre-registration on Google Play on May 18, 2021, a report appeared that they sent Android data players to the server in China.
Krafton also acknowledged that they knew that the problem was ongoing in connection with the launch of the BGMI, according to IGN’s report. He also said that they worked to fully comply with Indian laws and regulations before the official BGMI launch.
Now, returning to the latest ban on BGMI, a report by the central intelligence agent and letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to Meity seems to have triggered the latest development, according to the News18 report.
This application communicates with the server directly or indirectly located in China, a senior government official quoted in the report, while the decision to delete it from the application store was taken after several rounds of analysis by Indian agents.
In addition, this analysis also revealed that the BGMI application has a dangerous code and also obtains a number of critical permits, which can be misused because it is compromising user data for supervision through cameras/microphones, location tracking, and dangerous network activities, added officially.
He also added that Krafton had worked hard to communicate his sincerity with related authority and solve problems.
In accordance with the Sumber Inc42, South Korean game developers have been given 15 days to reply to the government.
Prohibition effect
The prohibition has begun to have an impact on the Indian eSports ecosystem. The second season of the Premier League Premier League (ESPL) based on a franchise has been postponed after the ban. Many other tournament organizers have also been forced to postpone the match scheduled for now.
The Esports Commonwealth 2022 championship will be held at the International Convention Center in Birmingham.
Although there has been no official statement from the government regarding the elimination of games from the application store, the prohibition will have an impact on the eSports ecosystem if it occurs for a while, Sagar Nair, one of the founders and CEO of Qlan, the social network of gamers, said.
According to Nair, BGMI is the biggest eSports title in the country with the type of popularity, player base, and viewer.
Recently, the Esports Platform and Live Game Streaming Loco claimed to have registered 100 MN viewers during the ‘BGMI 2022 Master series’ which ended on July 17.
Outside the game ecosystem, Krafton has also announced his plan to invest more than $ 100 MN in Indian technology startup ecosystems. In addition to game startups such as Nodwin Gaming, Loco, Nautilus Mobile, have invested in the Pratilipi Indian storyteller platform, FM Nail Audio Content Platform, among others.
While the eSports ecosystem in India is only left with the option to wait and watch until the government clarification enters, it must still be seen how the Krafton $ 100 MN investment plan will run if the BGMI prohibition is not revoked.