Garena Free Fire, PUBG Mobile got banned: Is BGMI next on the list again?

Garena Free Fire and PUBG Mobile are two big names on the ban list but will BGMI be the next one to get banned?

BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile are unlikely to make it to the ban list. (Krafton)

Garena Free Fire is the latest victim of the Indian Government's ban spree, following two years after PUBG Mobile suffered the same fate. Free Fire is part of the 54 Chinese apps that the government blocked on the occasion of security issues and data handling policies. While Garena says it is working on a solution to bring it back as soon as possible, players are now having to resort to Battlegrounds Mobile India, or BGMI, as well as new entries such as PUBG New State and Call of Duty: Mobile.

This brings us to another question: Will BGMI be the next one to get banned by the Indian government? Or will it be Call of Duty: Mobile? And what happens to all the upcoming battle royale titles from the bigger franchise, i.e., Apex Legends Mobile, and Battlefield Mobile? At the moment, if you are worried about BGMI, and Call of Duty: Mobile, you can sit back and relax. There are certain reasons why these games are not getting on the ban list anytime soon.

Ban on BGMI, COD Mobile: Why that won't happen

There are some basic parameters that these games fulfil in accordance with the local regulations.

User Data storage

This was the biggest reason why Garena Free Fire and PUBG Mobile got banned. The Indian government required app developers to store all user data locally on Indian servers in a bid to enhance privacy and security. The original PUBG Mobile did not meet this criteria under Tencent, hence it was removed. With BGMI, Krafton stores all the player data locally on Indian servers by collaborating Microsoft's cloud services. The same goes for Call of Duty: Mobile that also stores its player date on local servers.

Cloned apps

Garena Free Fire has long been believed to be a clone of PUBG Mobile, and in the latest ban, the Indian government removes all cloned apps and games that violate user privacy requirements. Note that Krafton had filed lawsuit against Garena for cloning its PUBG games on mobile platforms. BGMI is essentially a cloned version of the banned PUBG Mobile but it has certain India-specific modifications. The game has dialed down violence in its gameplay and introduced certain parental control features to help parents control addiction and other related issues. Moroever, the Indian version follows all the data privacy requirements that the previous version doesn't.

Call of Duty: Mobile is even safer in that regard, since it is largely based on the PC versions that Activision has launched in the last few years.

No ties with Chinese app publishers

After the PUBG Mobile ban, developer Krafton cut ties with Tencent for BGMI and PUBG New State. Same was the case with Call of Duty: Mobile, which had cut ties with Tencent and handled entirely by Activision Publishing Inc. In the case of Free Fire, it was handled by Garena, a Singapore-based publisher; it does not fall in line with India's ban on “Chinese apps”.