Krafton’s Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), known earlier as PUBG, has returned to India after the ban on the game was revoked.
“We are highly grateful to the Indian authorities for allowing us to resume operations of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). We would like to extend our gratitude to our Indian gaming community for their support and patience over the past few months,” Sean Hyunil Sohn, the CEO of the KRAFTON said in a statement on the website.
A mobile-centric game, BGMI became one of the most popular esports avenues in India.
The game clocked about $33 million in in-app spending from July 2021 to July 2022, according to estimates from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower. By July 2022, it surpassed 100 million registered users until it was banned by the Central Government due to security reasons.
Is BGMI coming back 2023?
Yes. On May 19, Krafton announced the game was back and three days later, it is available for download from the Google Play store.
The return would be an impetus to an already booming esports market in the country.
According to the latest data provided by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), India is currently home to over 430 million mobile gamers and is estimated to grow to 650 million by 2025.
As per Niko Partner’s India Games Market Report 2022, India is a mobile-first market with 98.8% of gamers playing on the platform, accounting for 85% of total market revenue. Data costs in India are the lowest in the world.
“The long-awaited return of BGMI after a 10-month hiatus is a much-needed boost for the Esports community in our country,” Lokesh Suji, the director of the Esports Federation of India and vice-president of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF) said.
How can I download BGMI?
BGMI is available on the Google Play Store but is open for limited users only.
Why can’t I see BGMI on Play Store or download it?
Battlegrounds Mobile India by Krafton has been launched in the country. But the game is not available for most users because of a technical glitch. The company had opened a window for beta-testing of the game pre-launch.
At the moment, only the users who had registered previously can access the game.
“Currently, the closed test track for BGMI is updated. Those who opted for a public test of the game before its launch are expected to get a message which takes them to the play store for downloading the game,” Krafton said in a statement.
However, the link won’t work, and the game cannot be downloaded as the servers have been shut. We also understand that some other users who had not opted for the closed test are also getting this message. This is a technical error, and we are working on resolving it.”
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