"BGMI is not banned; it is merely blocked": Piyush 'Spero' Bathla expresses his views on game's return after RTI reply

Since the removal of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) from application stores, the esports ecosystem revolving around the game has taken a massive hit. The effect is also visible on various creators' streams as their views have dropped after switching from Battlegrounds Mobile India to other games.

The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) took the stern decision to block the game in July 2022, but even after two months, chatter continues. Almost all influencers associated with Battlegrounds Mobile India have given their opinions on the game's return, with the most recent entry on the list being Piyush 'Spero' Bathla.

---

Piyush' Spero' Bathla talks about BGMI's return, leaks, RTI appeal, and more during his live stream

Professional esports caster Piyush "Spero" Bathla is the latest personality to give his opinion on Battlegrounds Mobile India's future when responding to a question from his chat.

At the "2:24" time stamp, Spero talks about the news and recent developments around BGMI after the RTI reply was posted by @godyamarajop. He said:

"The news (about BGMI) isn't as positive as you expected. The word is regarding the reply from MeitY to an RTI request filed by @godyamarajop, one of the representatives of our community on Twitter, which you guys might have seen the same via Instagram posts. The reply they (government authorities) have given mentioned that BGMI has been blocked because of data security issues."

Piyush further explained how the use of the word "blocked" can be termed as positive for the game's comeback:

"The only good news is that BGMI is not banned; it is merely blocked. There is a difference between restricting something and blocking it. The banning implies that one cannot use the banned entity, i.e., players won't be able to play Battlegrounds Mobile India as the government would have taken the servers down. However, the blocking means one cannot download the game as it has been removed from the Play Store and the App Store. The servers are still active, but the game cannot share the data outside India, while the RP purchase has also been suspended, as we all know."

Aside from explaining the significance of the word "blocked," Spero also shared his views on the return date of Battlegrounds Mobile India and leaks. Here's what he said during the livestream:

"Regarding the talks around comeback and leaks around it, in my opinion, leaks cannot come out because of the confidentiality of the matter. The government might have directed Krafton not to leak anything. So, if anyone is providing you with any of the leaks, they are probably wrong, in my opinion, because no one has any leaks."

The famous caster also mentioned talking to Krafton representatives:

"We (casters) also asked Krafton representatives (regarding any leaks), as we are in close contact with them. I am sure many other teams or casters would have tried to contact Krafton regarding the same, but no one has gotten any reply."

Concluding his views on the BGMI ban, Piyush told his followers that he is optimistic about the game's return after December. He was quoted as saying:

"The talks around the game's return are going as many expect the comeback to happen after December. I am also on that boat. I think BGMI isn't going to return before December. Any news will arrive in December or after that, so let's see what happens. Like Scout Bhai also mentioned, the comeback is to occur in December or a later month; the game cannot make a return before it. Even @godyamarajop said the same thing."

For the unversed, BGMI was taken down by Google and Apple from the Play Store and the App Store respectively on July 28 after an order was issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.