Krafton’s BGMI may return in January 2023 – Times of India

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was banned by the government earlier this year in July. Since then, the popular battle royale title has been missing from both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Meanwhile, fans of the game have come across several leaks and rumours regarding the game’s potential comeback. However, the game’s revival in the country is still not confirmed as neither the government nor the game’s developer has issued any official statement about the title’s return date. In a statement issued last month, BGMI’s publisher and developer, Krafton mentioned that the game is expected to return to India soon, but didn’t mention any particular date. Moreover, the MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) has also not disclosed a comeback date for the title. Rumours suggest an important update on BGMI is expected to be made public soon, most probably in January 2023.
BGMI India ban situation: What to expect
In November, Krafton addressed the BGMI ban situation at the company’s Q3 earnings report. The statement shared by the developers focused on the efforts to resume the game’s operations in India. It said that “Krafton is continuing its efforts to resume services” for BGMI in India and the company will continue investing in the Indian games market.
This statement was followed by an in-game 30-minute maintenance break, which was earlier scheduled by the company. The maintenance break had nothing to do with the ban situation, but it showed the game officials’ activity and authority on the Indian server.

BGMI India ban situation: Sanctions on South Korean companies
South Korean ambassador Chang Jae-Bok was also asked about the sanctions on South Korean companies (BGMI was specifically mentioned) in India at an event in New Delhi in October. Jae-Bok mentioned that India has cited concerns about “cyber security breaches and violence in games” as reasons for blocking the game.
He also mentioned that BGMI was previously serviced by the Chinese company Tencent. Jae-Bok noted that India might be thinking that the game is still being supervised by the Chinese company. So, South Korea is trying to resolve the confusion as well. Meanwhile, no government representative has commented or reacted to Jae-Bok’s statement.
In September, after an RTI appeal wanted to know if the reason behind the game’s removal was related to data security, MeitY responded with an official statement (which was also the last statement related to BGMI made by the ministry). BGMI fans shouldn’t even expect a statement regarding the game’s ban situation from the government anytime soon.