Fact Check: Is there any BGMI release date news for 2023 yet?

In the past few months, fans may have come across multiple release dates for BGMI after the popular app was blocked in India for data security reasons. This month, brand new unban dates are making the rounds online, with most of them suggesting that the game will return in mid-January 2023 and some mentioning January 15 as a fixed date for the battle royale title's return.

As of writing this article, there has been no official confirmation of an unban date from Krafton yet. It would be fitting to say that every known release date of Battlegrounds Mobile India is a rumor and, to some extent, misleading. Readers should take every leak and rumor regarding BGMI's return with a grain of salt.

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Fans should avoid believing any leaks as Krafton's yet to announce a release date for BGMI

Many unban leaks have aleady made their way onto the internet, without any official announcement from Krafton (Image via Google)

Amidst all the chaos and rumors, a potential return date for Battlegrounds Mobile India is currently unknown. Even though Krafton is yet to officially confirm the unban, many unofficial sources are providing the community with false release dates. In fact, several websites are even listing fake download links for the Battlegrounds Mobile India update.

Unfortunately, Battlegrounds Mobile India's case is similar to that of PUBG Mobile and Garena Free Fire. As a result, the Krafton-developed battle royale won't return until the developers resolve all of the game's alleged data security and privacy issues. Although very little is confirmed at the moment, Krafton is undoubtedly working hard to bring the game back.

This is exactly why players should rely only on Krafton's official statement instead of believing informal leaks and rumors from suspicious sources.

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Krafton has previously shown interest in bringing Battlegrounds Mobile India back

The Battlegrounds Mobile India servers are online to date as Krafton's still active in the Indian server (Image via Krafton)

A quote from Krafton's Q3 earnings report published back in November 2022 clearly reveals the company's interest in the Indian mobile gaming market and their zeal to get the game unbanned:

"KRAFTON is continuing its efforts to resume services for BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI) and will continue investing in the Indian games market."

Previously, the South Korean Ambassador addressed the BGMI situation while highlighting the developer's intention to resolve this matter (Image via Sportskeeda and YNA)

In addition to a positive response from the side publishers/developers, the South Korean Ambassador to India, H.E. Chang Jae-bok, spoke about the popular game a few months ago. During his speech at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee audit in New Delhi, India, Jae-bok stated (translated via Google):

"India cited concerns about cyber security breaches and violence in games as reasons for blocking (the game)."

The Korean Ambassador also highlighted the company's plans to resolve the privacy issue:

"Battlegrounds (Mobile India) was serviced by Chinese company Tencent in the past, but there are concerns that India still thinks that it is being serviced by a Chinese company, so we are trying to resolve this."

Interestingly, BGMI received two maintenance breaks in December, indicating Krafton's activity on the Indian server. In the meantime, readers can explore alternatives to Battlegrounds Mobile India or continue to play the popular game (but in an older version) as its servers are still online.