Krafton’s BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI), a multiplayer battle royale game, has unexpectedly been withdrawn from both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. According to reports, the game was removed from Google Play and the Apple App Store this evening as a result of a government order.
Krafton, the company behind BGMI, is reportedly clarifying the removal with both app markets and confirms to provide more information after further clarification.
In a statement, Krafton spokesperson said,
We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play store and the App store and will let you know once we get specific information.
Meanwhile, a Google spokesman added the app suspension to Moneycontrol, saying,
On receipt of the order, we alerted the impacted developer and banned access to the app that was still available on the Play Store in India.
BGMI was recently brought up in the Rajya Sabha, and the timing of this removal seems to coincide. Then, back in June, a 16-year-old boy from Lucknow shot his mother dead for not letting him play mobile games, and the discussion in Rajya Sabha was based on it. PTI reports that Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on July 22 that law enforcement officials are looking into the situation.
It’s unclear whether the Rajya Sabha debate prompted the government to act, or if security worries arose, like they did with the PUBG app in 2020. As a result, we’ll have to wait for formal confirmation to determine the reason for the removal. Also, keep in mind that the game is still playable by players right now.