Krafton Addresses the BGMI ban in its Quarterly Earnings Meeting

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was banned under section 69A of the IT act by the Indian government on 28th July. Since then, the Indian gaming community has been eagerly waiting for a positive update regarding the game. BGMI publisher Krafton has addressed the game’s ban in the recently held company’s quarterly earnings call. Bae Dong-Geun, the CFO of the South Korean company said that Krafton fully respects and understands the concerns of the Indian government and are finding ways to reinstate BGMI in the country.

Krafton to co-operate with the Indian government to unban BGMI

Krafton’s CFO Bae Dong-Geun discussed the BGMI ban in India during the company’s quarterly earnings call. He said that the company will cooperate with the Indian government to bring back BGMI in India.

"We fully respect and understand the Indian government's concern and as 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," said Bae Dong-Geun.

This statement indicates that Krafton is ready to cooperate with the Indian government to unban the game in India. Bae Dong-Geun further mentioned that Krafton significantly increased the BGMI player base in India by collaborating with the local market.

While many people are optimistic about BGMI’s chances of unban, Godlike Esports coach Abhijeet Harishchandra “Ghatak” criticized Krafton for some of the factors that led to the BGMI ban in the country. He said that the chances of BGMI coming back are very low.

The Indian gaming community was witnessing the rise of BGMI esports prior to the ban. Major tournaments including LAN events that were lined up have been put on hold following the game’s ban. Several gaming firms including Outlier Games, Story Pix, Lucid Labs, Roach Interactive, Godspeed Games, Uniplay Digital, and more have called the BGMI ban an unfortunate event. In a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gaming firms urged for uniform and fair treatment for all the entities operating in the South Asian market.

Since Krafton is ready to cooperate with the Indian government, it would be interesting to see what changes will the company bring to BGMI to unban it in India. Several reports have suggested that the game has been temporarily suspended, and not permanently banned at the moment. However, the Indian government may permanently ban the game depending on the result of its ongoing investigation.