Krafton says will cooperate with Indian govt to resolve BGMI ban

Krafton, the developer of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), said on Thursday that it is working closely with Indian authorities following the ban on its most popular Battle Royale game, which has over 100 million users in the country.

During the company’s quarterly earnings call, Kraft CFO Bae Dong-geun stated that the company respects and understands the Indian government’s concerns.

“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,” Dong-geun said.

Following the government’s order to Google and Apple to ban BGMI, some gaming companies wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting ‘fair treatment’ to help foster the country’s gaming ecosystem.

“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,” Dong-geun further said.

Krafton’s revenues increased to $727.7 million in the first six months of the year, while net income increased by $337.6 million.

Under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act of 2000, the government ordered Google and Apple to remove the BGMI gaming app from their respective online stores late last month.

The ban on BGMI, the Indian version of PUBG, forced the cancellation of a major e-sports event, despite reports of a “China connection” behind the ban.

The ban last week forced the postponement of the Esports Premier League (ESPL) Season 2.