The Indian gaming industry is again under the cosh with reports that the fate of the wildly popular Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), which was only reinstated in the country in May 2023 following a period of suspension, is hanging in the balance.
Per News18, the Union government’s cybersecurity division has recommended that the app be discontinued, with agency sources suggesting that data collected through BGMI could “potentially lead to cyber-attacks and compromise the country’s security”.
A crucial meeting scheduled next week is expected to clear the air, the news channel reports. The company will also present its case, and Central agencies will review their stance before deciding the game’s fate.
The report claims that crimes related to BGMI “have alerted” the authorities. It goes on to outline the illegal entry of a foreign national into India as one of the “factors”. But, as IGN India has noted, it was PUBG Mobile that was connected to that particular matter, not BGMI.
The Indian gaming community was stunned when the government banned BGMI in July 2022. The impact was felt most in the esports industry, as the mobile battle royale title commanded a massive following and helped fuel the growth of the market.
India’s video game market has been the fastest-growing in Asia, with projected revenue of $1.4 billion for PC and mobile games by 2026, excluding real money games (RMG). In 2023, there were 444 million gamers in India across platforms like mobile, PC, and console, with the majority (96.8%) playing on mobile devices. BGMI alone has been downloaded over 100 million times, with 71.8% of gamers engaging in esports. Discontinuing such a prominent title could cause tremendous harm to the Indian gaming ecosystem, IGN India argues.
Furthermore, Krafton has committed $150 million (over Rs 1,200 crore) to invest in Indian gaming startups over the next few years. The company also launched the Krafton India Gaming Incubator to assist young Indian game developers in transforming their concepts into viable and sustaining video games. Selected developers will receive personalised guidance and support over a period of 6–12 months. Krafton India teased last month that it will announce the program’s first cohort soon.
Even beyond BGMI and Krafton, discontinuing the game could severely impact the Indian video game industry, IGN India further notes. This could lead to a loss of confidence from foreign companies in India as a market for future investments.
