New Delhi blocks Krafton’s Battle Ground Mobile India

The Indian government has ordered the country’s Alphabet Inc.'s Google Play Store and Apple Inc.’s App Store to delete South Korean game developer Krafton Inc.'s Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI).

Battlegrounds Mobile India is the Indian version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile, made exclusively for players in the South Asian nation.

Krafton developed and published the online multiplayer battle royale game and released it last July for Android devices, and the following month for iOS devices.

In just a year of publishing, the game attracted more than 100 million accumulated players and ranked No. 1 in the App Store. 

The Indian government did not provide an official reason for the latest decision.

Existing users of the game can play it but updating or downloading it for the first time is not possible. 

Prior to Krafton managing the game directly, China’s Tencent was in charge of the game’s publishing. 

Relations between China and India have continued to sour since 2020 when a border conflict between the two countries heated up. 

This is when New Dehli first blocked the original PUBG Mobile from its app market. 

But even after Krafton pushed out a local version, some argued that BGMI should be treated the same as PUBG Mobile. 

Last month, a 16-year-old boy from Uttar Pradesh, India, shot his mother after she prohibited him from playing mobile phone games. The murder incident added weight to those who want stronger regulations for the mobile gaming industry. 

The crackdown on PUBG is just one of India’s bans on more than 100 mobile apps originating from or related to China. 

According to Krafton’s regulatory filing in Seoul, the Shenzen, China-based Tencent has a 13.5% stake in the South Korean company as of the end of March 2022. 

If the block continues, Krafton may choose to discontinue the service in India just as Tencent did. 

“We are trying to get a clear idea of the current situation in India,” a Krafton employee told The Korea Economic Daily.

Upset BGMI players took to Twitter to show their disapproval of the government’s decision using the hashtag “BGMIbanned,” and reasoned that if the game is banned, a host of other games must be banned as well. 

Krafton's share price plummeted on Friday when the news broke. 

It finished the day’s trade at 233,500 won ($179) a share, 4.5% lower than the previous day.  

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.