Back in action: Krypton’s BGMI hits 40 million downloads in 6 weeks
South Korean gaming company Krypton has recorded more than 40 million downloads for its free-to-play online game Battlegrounds Mobile India, or BGMI, just six weeks after the government allowed it to restart for a limited trial, say sources that track gaming apps.
Many players call it a mod or Indian version of the very popular PUBG Mobile which was banned in India in September 2020. The downloads include new users as well as old users who update the game, which has been off the air for a long time by downloading the app again.
Based on App Annie’s data, BGMI currently ranks 11th among overall games on Google Play listed between 6-8 in Sensor Tower. In India, 95 percent of gamers use mobile phones to play games. The rest use computers and consoles.
Krypton declined to comment on details of the game’s relaunch. Krypton also co-owns the controversial game PUBG Mobile with China’s Tencent, but it has been banned in India along with 116 other Chinese apps, fearing it could jeopardize India’s sovereignty. She had more than 180 million subscribers at the time.
Last July, BGMI was also banned after it reached more than 100 million downloads a year after its launch. It was one of the most popular games in the country. The reason for the ban was concern that BGMI was communicating directly or indirectly with sites in China that could compromise Indian data.
Krypton appealed against the ban and appealed to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), allowing it to restart the video game for a three-month trial run from the end of May. Once the trial period ends, a final decision will be made regarding its future.
MEITY’s Minister of State, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, explained through a tweet that the three-month trial was only granted because BGMI complied with server location and data security issues.
He also said that the government will closely monitor the game for other potential issues such as harm to users or addiction during the trial period.
First published: July 21, 2023 | 10:33 p.m ist