Reports: BGMI might return to India soon but with some restriction

The most popular battle royale game in India, Battlegrounds Mobile India, might be making a comeback soon after eight months of absence. The Indian government is reportedly considering lifting the ban on PUBG Mobile’s India-based spinoff.

In accordance with Section 69A of the IT Act 2000, the Indian government abruptly removed BGMI from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store on July 28, 2022. After the suspension, Krafton issued a formal statement promising players that the game would return to India and that they were resolving the concerns with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technologies (MeitY).

As there have been no updates from the government or the developer for almost eight months, the situation has gotten rather dire. Several gamers have turned away from BGMI as a result and instead started playing other mobile Battle Royale games like Call of Duty: Mobile and New State Mobile. Yet just when it appeared that there was no hope left, a fresh report suggested that the game would indeed make a comeback, although with some restraints.

According to the News18 report, Indian government representatives and Krafton have reached an agreement to temporarily lift the ban on the condition that the developer makes some specific adjustments to the game’s original version. The fact that the game would only be accessible for three months is more evidence that the authorities may wish to verify that the improvements have been made before allowing the game to return permanently.

Reported changes requested by Indian governments

The game will have a specified time limit, limiting players’ access to it to a set number of hours, the report claims. Though, the report makes no indication of the number of hours players can access the game. According to reports, the government has requested that the developer remove the “blood effect” from the title due to concerns that it could be linked to player episodes of violence and self-harm. This option is already available in the game and is similar to the one that is now being offered in China.

The game’s server, which was the main cause of the services’ suspension, will undergo the most noteworthy change. The studio behind the title Krafton reportedly agreed to comply with the government’s terms and shift the server. If the reports are accurate and everything goes according to plan, the Indian PUBG Mobile version may soon be accessible for download from the Play Store and the App Store.

Header: Krafton