Battleground Mobile India Receives Temporary Reprieve with Three-Month Trial Period

The Indian government has given Krafton's Battleground Mobile India a temporary three-month trial period to operate in the country. According to reports by TechCrunch, this decision comes after the game's publisher addressed concerns regarding user data security and server locations, which led to a ban in 2022. India's Deputy IT Minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, stated, "We will closely monitor other issues, such as user harm and addiction, over the next three months before making a final decision." The move is part of a broader effort by Indian authorities to lift bans on apps linked to Chinese companies. Krafton's struggle to operate in India began in 2020 when PUBG Mobile was banned due to ties with Chinese firms. The company self-published a country-specific version, Battleground Mobile India, in an attempt to circumvent the ban. However, the game faced further challenges, including calls for a ban in March 2021 and an official block by the Indian government in July 2022, citing national security concerns over data sharing and mining with China, given Krafton's partial ownership by the Chinese conglomerate Tencent.