The sudden disappearance of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) from the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store in India sent a shockwave across the eSports community on July 28 (Thursday). Launched as a custom version of PUBG Mobile for India, BGMI quickly climbed the charts in top gaming apps category.
Even though the actual reason for the sudden disappearance of the game has not been cleared as yet, several reports state that the central government has banned the gaming platform due to some ‘data’ and ‘privacy’ affairs. The government earlier banned the PUBG under section 69A of the IT Act citing data security and privacy concerns.
Meanwhile, Krafton India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn has briefed on the matter for the first time.
“Dear Patron of BGMI, we are committed to the Indian market and are positive about the opportunities in the country. At KRAFTON Inc., the security and privacy of our user data are 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,” said Sean Hyunil Sohn.
“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 about 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,” he added.
The CEO also emphasized the fact that they are looking forward to strengthening their partnerships and collectively fostering the gaming ecosystem in India. “We kindly request you to wait to hear from us. We will keep you informed about further updates. We look forward to strengthening our partnerships and collectively fostering the gaming ecosystem in India,” concluded Sohn.
It is worth noting that to relaunch the game, Krafton has cut all commercial ties in relation to India with the Chinese gaming giant Tencent. Tencent holds around 9% share in Krafton.