- Krafton has addressed the recent BGMI ban in the company’s quarterly earnings call.
- Krafton CFO Bae Dong-geun has said that the company is cooperating with the government to bring back BGMI.
- It’s unclear whether Krafton will be able to relaunch BGMI in India.
The Indian government recently banned one of the most popular battle royale games in the country, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), over concerns regarding data security. The government claims that many previously banned apps, including PUBG Mobile, have resurfaced in India with different avatars, but with no servers in the country. BGMI was banned in India under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. PUBG Mobile was banned in 2020 for similar reasons alongside over 100 other apps and games that had servers in China.
As reported by ET, Krafton has addressed the recent BGMI ban in the company’s quarterly earnings call. Krafton CFO Bae Dong-geun said, “We have been directly running the service based on stringent data security standards and monitoring. We will closely cooperate with the authorities to find ways for the users in India to keep enjoying BGMI.” The company had previously also shared a statement about the BGMI ban in India and said that it is working with the Indian government to relaunch the game.
In the earnings call, Dong-geun further added, “In the second quarter, we broadened the user base through own and offline collaborations in the local market, and expanded monetized content offerings, providing a battle royale experience unique to BGMI.” Krafton’s revenue grew to $727.7 million and its net income increased by $337.6 million in the first six months of 2022. It remains to be seen whether Krafton will be able to bring back BGMI in India.
Skyesports CEO Shiva Nandy has recently claimed that the BGMI ban is not permanent and it will be coming back soon. Nandy says the ban was not immediate and the process took almost five months. An interim notice was apparently sent to Krafton by the government just one week before the ban. Nandy further said, “According to sources, Tik Tok is all set to make a comeback. In that case, BGMI will be back 100 per cent.”
