Krafton launched the Battlegrounds Mobile India in India in an understated manner after the ban of PUBG Mobile last September. The game is now available for download on Android devices and is set to release on iOS devices yet.
At launch the game had received 20 million early access registrations and 40 million pre-registrations. This was posted on the Korean website of Krafton and this honestly does not come as a surprise. PUBG Mobile's popularity corresponds with these numbers.
And into almost a week into the launch of the game, it has been downloaded 10 million times from the Google Play Store and is currently featured on the 'Top Free Game' list. It is currently holding the second spot on the ‘Top Grossing Games’ list in India after Garena Free Fire.
The game went for pre-registration on May 18, and the developers gave it more than a month before it will be launched. But the time from the pre-registration of the game to the launch in early access it was reported that it was communicating with Chinese servers, the reason PUBG Mobile was banned.
This drew criticism from members of the ruling party in India but MEITY had previously clarified that it can't ban a game before launch. This was followed up by an update to the game, that apparently fixed the issue of data sharing with China. And Krafton even issued a statement regarding the data-sharing issue assuring that it is "implementing the industry’s toughest standards for data security".
Krafton made some heavy investments in big players in the Indian gaming ecosystem as well in the meantime, which we can only assume is to get a stronger foothold in the market before officially launching BGMI. And now that Krafton has officially launched the game we expect that it has covered all bases so as to prevent a repeat of the past.
And following the launch of the game multiple companies have announced teams that will be playing Battlegrounds Mobile India. Although Battlegrounds Mobile India team from Krafton has not announced any esports plans yet.
- Hands on: Battlegrounds Mobile India
- Battlegrounds Mobile India download, and latest news
- Battlegrounds Mobile India launched without much fanfare
