PUBG Mobile’s successor, Battlegrounds Mobile India, has had its first controversy very soon after its release. The game was found red-handed sending data to servers established in China. It was further discovered that those servers were run by a Chinese state-owned company named China Mobile Communications Corporation. On 23rd June, an IGN report took the media by storm claiming that Battlegrounds Mobile India is allegedly sending players’ data from an Android device to a Chinese server. The report also stated in detail that the data was being sent to Tencent-run Proxima Beta in Hong Kong as well as Microsoft Azure servers established in the US, Moscow, and Mumbai. Kafton has released a clarification in detail for the same. Reportedly, a hotfix update resolved the issue to some extent later on.
In the statement issued by Krafton, it said, “Krafton is fully aware of the recent concerns over data handling in regards to BGMI Early Access test. Similar to other global mobile games and apps, Battlegrounds Mobile India also uses third-party solutions to provide unique game features. In the process of using these solutions, some game data was shared with third parties. Its privacy policy fully discloses that the app may transfer some user data, with users’ consent to the privacy policy and choosing to migrate their accounts. No data has been shared in violation of the privacy policy.” In the clarification issued by Krafton, it also said that it is fully aware of the current controversy regarding data handling related to the early access version of Battlegrounds Mobile India. It accesses third-party services just like any other mobile game globally present so that it can bring unparalleled features to the much awaited game.
But when using such services, some data of the game is necessarily shared with third parties. Moreover, Krafton justified it by saying that the privacy policy of the game has fully declared that it may transfer some user data to migrate their accounts from PUBG Mobile to BGMI as suited by Krafton. Krafton has also guaranteed to monitor as well as protect all its players’ data if it is found transferred to an unrecognized and restricted IP address before the official launch. of the game’s launch. They further continued, “The data shared to third parties are only to enable certain game features. In the meantime, Krafton will continue to closely monitor and protect any data being transferred to unexpected and restricted IP addresses before the official launch.” But the problem still prevails as Krafton did not clarify what game features needed third-party access to its user data.
But it can be understood that those features, maybe account migration being one of them, can be based on prior information. One of the features of BGMI requires data transfer from users’ previous PUBG Mobile account to the Battlegrounds account. So this might be a strong reason for Battlegrounds Mobile India to share data with the Tencent servers. To add to that, Tencent’s anti-cheat solution is also found by that IGN report. Many people have demanded a ban, but the government of India told that it won’t issue a ban on the game preemptively. An RTI enabled this information which mentioned that Krafton faced the Indian embassy situated in Seoul to talk about the features of Battlegrounds Mobile India. But the question has still not been answered as to why the game was sending data to China Mobile Communications Corporation.
Moreover, PUBG Mobile was banned due to similar reasons, and yet Battlegrounds Mobile India seems to follow the same path. For assurance, Krafton has also launched a downloadable automatic update feature for booting Battlegrounds Mobile India’s early access version. Reports suggest that this update will be useful in preventing the user’s data from being transferred to any Chinese server. Now coming to the privacy policy declared by Krafton’s Battlegrounds Mobile India. There are a few restrictions for children playing under the age of 18. Among these, the most important one is that players under 18 years will need the consent of their parents before playing Battlegrounds Mobile India. They will have to enter their parents’ mobile numbers in order to verify the consent.
Another noteworthy restriction is that minors cannot play Battlegrounds Mobile India for more than three hours per day. This is taken keeping in mind the parent’s concerns. Also, these minors will not be able to get in-app purchases worth more than Rs 7000 in the game. Battlegrounds Mobile India is limited to the Indian market only. So it is not available for download in other countries. This means that players cannot play Battlegrounds Mobile India with other players outside of India. This is a huge con for players. However, it is not yet decided if Krafton will allow Battlegrounds Mobile India players to play with PUBG Mobile global players or not. PUBG Mobile players are aware of the fact that their players used to land half-naked in the game. But Battlegrounds Mobile India will not use this similar plot.
According to inside sources, Battlegrounds Mobile India will have outfits for players and their bodies will always be fully covered. This might be because at the time of PUBG Mobile, nudity was a big issue for Indian parents. In a nutshell, Battlegrounds Mobile India is expected to be more cultured or sanskari in India. Moreover, Indian parents also had a problem with all the violence and bloodshed in PUBG Mobile which was really too much. They thought it will affect their children’s mental health. So Krafton decided that Battlegrounds Mobile India will not have bloodshed. If someone is killed in the game, the players will see a green liquid draining out of the character’s body instead of red blood. The Google Play Store’s description for Battlegrounds Mobile India says: “Set in a virtual world, Battlegrounds Mobile India is a battle royale game where multiple players employ strategies to fight and be the last man standing on the battlegrounds.
A free-to-play, multiplayer experience, in Battlegrounds Mobile India, players can battle it out in diverse game modes which can be squad-based or even one-on-one.” This implies that the game is more or less similar to PUBG Mobile in terms of gameplay. In fact, Battlegrounds Mobile India’s teasers too have shown signature PUBG elements such as the Level-3 helmet, the game’s blue energy drinks, the parachute, and even the bullet-deflecting pan. Battlegrounds Mobile India has become hype for PUBG fans in India since the day this game was announced by Krafton, that is, earlier in May. The popular battle royale game opened its doors to the waiting fans for pre-registration in India on May 18, but only for Android devices.
Meanwhile, Krafton, Battleground Mobile India’s developer, has unveiled plenty of details through its official website and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. These details include maps, privacy policy, restrictions in the game, rewards, and much more. There have come multiple rumors about the release date of Battlegrounds Mobile India from credible sources but nothing has been said by the developers.
