In a blow to fans of the popular Battle Royale game India Mobile Battlegrounds (BGMI), the application has been removed from Apple and Google app stores in india. The BGMI ban comes after a government order. A Google spokesperson confirmed to TOI Tech-Gadgets Now that the app has been removed following orders from government authorities. “Upon receipt of the order, following the established process, we notified the developer concerned and blocked access to the application which remained available on the Play Store in India”, indicates a press release from Google. Although Apple declined to comment, the BGMI gaming app has also been removed from the company’s Indian app store.
Krafton meanwhile said it was clarifying the ban with the government. “We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play Store and the App Store and will let you know once we get specific information,” Krafton said in a statement.
However, it looks like publisher BGMI saw the ban coming. Less than a fortnight ago, Krafton released an update allowing users to download the APK version of the game from its website. “Not only is BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA available on App Store and Google Play Store, but players can now also download the game from BGMI’s website itself! With the latest update, users can click click the download APK button on the website to directly install the game.” developer BGMI Krafton said in the release.
What is an APK file and what BGMI APK means for android and iPhone users
For those who don’t know, APK stands for Android Package (sometimes Android Package Kit or Android Application Package). File format used by Android to distribute and install applications. Users can use APK files to download apps that are not available on the Google Play Store. It is also called Application SideLoading. While Google advises users to download APK files as they may contain malware, spyware or other dangerous code; Apple does not allow sideloading of apps on iPhones. This means that iPhone users cannot use the BGMI APK update released by Krafton.
What Krafton said about BGMI APK
According to Krafton’s version, the APK file makes the game easier to download and much lighter. While the download size on the Google Play Store is around 860MB, the file size of the version on the website is 600MB.” For those who play the previous version, one can easily install the latest version over the existing game, and the data will be automatically updated with the latest,” the update version added.
APK file of no other popular game available
Incidentally, no other popular mobile game (top 5 in India according to downloads) offers APK files on its website. The most popular Android game of 2021 Garena Free Fire also does not provide users with an APK download option. Garena Free Fire was banned by the government in February 2022.
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