Buoyed by the return of its video game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) in India, on a three-month trial by the government, South Korean video game developer Krafton on Thursday announced its esports YouTube Channel and Instagram page for the country. Called Krafton India Esports, the channel is aimed at fostering the growth of the esports ecosystem in the country, the company said in a statement. Also Read - Krafton launches an esports channel for gaming fans in India: All you need to know
“With our dedicated Esports channels and upcoming tournaments, we look forward to bringing engaging experiences and growing together with our gaming community in the country,” said Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton Inc. India. Also Read - YouTube Music may soon get a new Samples tab: Here's what it does
The company is hosting a series of ‘Road To Valor: Empires’ matches on May 26. Players can participate in exhilarating matches against developers from the Krafton team where the winning player stands a chance to win 1000 gems as a reward. The company said it will organise developer vs player matches every Friday for its flagship titles, enabling gamers to challenge the game creators and showcase their skills. Also Read - BGMI is back but you still cannot play it, blame Krafton servers
BGMI makes a comeback but temporarily
Last week, Krafton announced it is bringing Battlegrounds Mobile India, popularly known as BGMI, back after a year-long hiatus. “We are highly grateful to the Indian authorities for allowing us to resume operations of Battlegrounds Mobile India,” Sohn had said in a statement.
A few days later, BGMI showed up again on the Google Play Store, sending anticipating gamers into a frenzy. But the game is still not playable. That is because the servers are frozen. According to the message displayed on the game’s welcome screen, the servers are yet to go live in India.
“Currently, the closed test track for BGMI is updated. Those who opted for a public test for the game before its launch are expected to get a message which takes them to the Play Store to download the game” said Krafton in a statement. “However, the link won’t work, and the game cannot be downloaded as the servers have been shut down. We also understand that some other users who had not opted for the closed test are also getting this message. This is a technical error, and we are working on resolving it.”
BGMI’s return is subject to some conditions, however. The government said it will keep a close watch on the game for three months before finally approving it. Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar has clarified that the final decision to allow Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) to return to the country will only be taken after three months of a strict trial of the game. The minister said that the government will keep a close watch on other issues of “user harm, addiction, etc in the next three months before a final decision is taken”.
— Written with inputs from IANS
