India’s most loved battle royale mobile game was once again under the radar of the Government of India. Battlegrounds Mobile India aka BGMI got banned on 27th July 2022 when the Indian Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) issued orders under Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to take down the game.
The popularity of the game was huge in the country. On July 1st, 2022, Krafton the developers of the game announced the milestone of surpassing 100 million registered users.
They launched a first-of-its-kind ‘Game Responsibly’ campaign in November 2021 to promote safer and responsible gaming habits and build awareness amongst players to cultivate safer and healthy gaming habits. Still, it couldn’t get them to stop the ban.
Although the game had majorly active players, the popularity of the game is also determined by its presence in the esports ecosystem. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that “BGMI was the king of that ecosystem”. It became the first ever game to be broadcasted on national TV which was organized by Nodwin Gaming in partnership with Star Sports.
What Are The Impacts On Indian Esports After BGMI Ban?
Mobile esports in India rose to the pinnacle and the BGMI ban has heavily impacted the industry. We have listed out the major things that could impact Indian esports after the ban.
The Impact on teams and players
The esports ecosystem is all about the players and teams being backed up by organizations. Although many Indian organizations have invested in the esports industry. International esports organizations such as Team Solomid, Nigma Galaxy, and Ampverse have shown great trust in Indian esports.
Also Read: BGMI Ban; How Top Pros, Creators Reacted
The companies have invested worth millions of dollars to provide the best facilities to their players with high-class bootcamps, devices, respected salaries, and more. The frequent ban of the game has aroused them to question their investment plans in the region.
The Impact on tournament organizers
Battlegrounds Mobile India is one of the most watched esports games in India and tournament organizers majorly rely on being the main sources of revenue. As per sources Nodwin Gaming, the organizers of the first-ever televised event was working on bringing season 2 of the Masters Series.
Whereas Skyesports acquired by Jetsynthesys, announced Skyesports League 2022 with an 8-digit prize pool featuring the game. The huge viewership count and watch hours have attracted both endemic and non-endemic sponsors such as Oneplus, iqoo, Hyundai, Gillette, and Swiggy to promote their brands.
Also Read | Krafton CEO responds to BGMI ban; says working with authorities to resolve it
The sudden BGMI ban and restrictions being imposed on the ongoing events and tournaments have weakened the trust between the tournament organizers and potential sponsors.
The Impact On Krafton’s Investments
Although Krafton is the developer of Battlegrounds Mobile India. The company has worked on the upliftment of the esports industry in India. Krafton said it has already deployed around $100 million which was committed to the Indian market two years ago in the South Asian nation. Some of their major investments are mentioned below:
- $22.5 million in Nodwin Gaming in March 2021
- $9 million in Loco in June 2021
- $48 million in Pratilipi in July 2021
- $6.5 million in Frnd in December 2021
- $5.4 million in Nautilus Mobile in February 2022
- $7 million in Kuku FM in March 2022
Also Read: BGMI Banned In India: 5 Things We Know
With one of their biggest games getting banned in the region, the company is taking huge losses in the market. Krafton’s share price crashed by 9% after the game was removed from the play store and app store. These sudden losses could also impact their decisions on further investments.
