Earlier today, the popular battle royale game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) got removed from the Google Playstore and Apple App store. The reason behind the removal isn’t clear as of yet. However, the reports related to the matter point toward a ban.
Why did BGMI get removed from Play Store and App Store in India?
The company behind BGMI, Krafton, has commented on the matter saying we are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play and will let you know once we get specific information.”
On the other hand, Google has said that it has removed the game from the Play Store on ‘receipt of the order.’ The search giant has also stated that “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.”
In a recent statement, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar noted that PUBG was banned in India in 2020, but banned apps have been resurfacing in new avatars. It is quite clear that this is a reference to BGMI, which is a re-skinned version of PUGB Mobile.
BGMI has been pulled from the Play Store because of a government order – a person familiar with the matter.
— Manish Singh (@refsrc) July 28, 2022
With multiple ministers pushing for a ban on BGMI in India, the recent incident of a 16-year-old shooting and killing his mother over an alleged argument about online games like PUBG could have been the last straw that broke the camel’s back and forced the government to silently ban BGMI in the country. This, however, is mere speculation at the moment, as we wait for more details to be revealed on the matter.
The game is still playable for those who already have it installed on their devices. We will keep a close eye on the matter for any further updates, so stay tuned.
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