Get ready to fight for chicken dinners again, but not all day.
Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) unban is reportedly happening soon. This comes nearly eight months after the game was banned by the country’s government. India’s Ministry of Electronics banned the game on July 28, 2022, for alleged data privacy concerns. At the time, the battle royale title by Krafton, BGMI, was one of the most popular games in the country.
BGMI unban happening soon, but with China-like time restrictions
A report by News18, which cited top sources in the government, has said that the government has recommended the unban of the game for three months. This was recommended after Krafton had agreed to make “certain changes” to BGMI.
The biggest change, according to the report, is a draconian measure similar to China’s crackdown on gaming back in 2019. The game will not be playable 24x7 but instead will have restrictions on playtime. It’s unclear how these will be imposed as this is a first for a video game in India.
BGMI was banned for data privacy concerns. According to the Indian government, it was allegedly stealing users’ data and transmitting it to China. However, Krafton has now made some changes to the game and agreed to comply with all government rules which has led to the reported unban.
It’s unclear why measures like playtime restrictions are being imposed when the game was banned for data privacy concerns. Esports.gg has reached out to Krafton for comment and will update this article after a response.
Additionally, the report also suggests that the game will only be available for three months. It’s possible that the government likely wants to confirm the changes have been implemented before permanently allowing the game to return.
From PUBG Mobile to a completely new game, will there be a change this time?
BGMI was the Indian version of PUBG Mobile. It was released after India banned the latter in September 2020 for the same reasons related to data privacy.
At the time, Krafton said that it was taking over publishing responsibilities from Tencent and subsequently released BGMI. The game was essentially the same as PUBG Mobile. However, it had some key differences like green blood, only India servers, and regional events.
However, this time, it seems that the battle royale title will not take up a new avatar to return. BGMI will come back with the same name. An exact unban date, however, hasn’t been revealed yet.
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