Krafton Inc. Set to Restart Operations of Battlegrounds Mobile India After Receiving Approval
Battlegrounds Mobile India after its ban in August 2022 has now received approval from Indian authorities to restart its operations in the country and the game will soon be made available to the public.
Here’s more about it.
Battlegrounds Mobile India Coming Back
In 2020, the Indian government amidst a lot of geopolitical issues with China banned more than 300 Chinese apps including widely used apps like TikTok, Shein, UC Browser, and PUBG(PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) as per the Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, of 2000, pointing to a lot of security issues these apps might cause.
At the time of its ban, PUBG had about 33 million registered users and later PUBG Studios came forward to announce that the company will relaunch the game in India with a new title. With its collaboration with the Korean gaming company, Krafton, PUBG Studios registered PUBG India Private LTD under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in order to relaunch the game in the country.
The Battlegrounds Mobile India was then announced in the month of May 2021 and was released for Android and iOS devices in the same year, on 2nd July and 18th August respectively. The game was a hit and had more than 100 million registered users in the country.
However, it never took long and Battlegrounds Mobile India too had to face the same fate just like the other Chinese applications, as the game was banned a year later on the 22nd of August 2022. A proper clarity for the ban was not given and security issues might have been what made the government take the step.
It should also be noted that Prahar, a non-profit organization had also claimed that the game is no different from PUBG and it still poses a threat to the country.
Now the company has officially announced via its Twitter handle that the company has received approval from the Indian authorities and is to soon restart its operation in the country. The chief executive officer of Krafton India, Sean Hyunil Sohn has also expressed the company’s gratitude towards the Indian authorities for the greenlight.
It should also be noted that the game has now only received a trial approval after the company was able to address its security issues. The deputy IT minister of India, Rajeev Chandrasekhar has also added that the company’s operations will be watched by the government and the Indian authorities after which only a final decision will be taken.
