After a long wait Battlegrounds Mobile India makes a grand comeback by dominating Play Store with over 10 million downloads within hours after its release on July 2, 2021.
By Santosh M
After its official launch on July 2, 2021, Battlegrounds Mobile India (or BGMI as Indian fans call it) has topped charts in google play store within hours of its release. The early access of the game was made available for download on June 8. But after its official release, it has crossed more than 10 million downloads within hours, making it the top spot in the “Top Free” section of play store and 2nd spot in the “Top Grossing”. Android users can now download the game for free in the google play store along with amazing rewards and events which is exclusive to this version of PUBG Mobile.
The game which was originally titled PUBG mobile back when it was released in March 2018 globally, rose quickly and started gaining popularity amongst Indians both game enthusiast and casual players alike. But after its ban by the Indian government in relation to banning of Chinese apps from play store in September 2020, players and content creators who enjoyed the game were left hanging. Krafton, which is the parent company of PUBG mobile had to break ties with Tencent, a Chinese based multinational company and work with different companies like Airtel, Reliance Jio, Microsoft, etc. Now after its official comeback as BGMI, it has topped play store as the most downloaded free game with different in-game events and rewards which is exclusive to this version only. Although the game has been made while keeping the Indian audience in mind, Krafton claims it is very similar to its original PUBG mobile global version. “Battlegrounds Mobile India is a new free game made for Indians“ says the game’s description.
The game comes with different exclusive in-game events and rewards for its official release. The duration of receiving the “India ka Battlegrounds” gift along with 1 million and 5 million total download rewards is extended to August 19. In addition, players can also collect the Constable Set (permanent gift for 10 million downloads) after the official opening until August 19. Krafton will announce more such in-game events in the coming days. While android users can enjoy this experience, IOS users will have to wait as there is no official announcement of the release date from Krafton yet.
Krafton has also announced that it is temporarily shutting down data transfer from PUBG Mobile to BGMI. Players are advised to transfer the required data before July 6. The developers have not shared details on when they plan to resume the data transfer service.
So if you are an android user go ahead and give the most loved game of India a try right away and hopefully Krafton will giveaway another 20 million downloads reward.
(The writer is a final year student of Mass Communication department of Manipur University)