Battlegrounds Mobile India Introduces Permanent Device Ban Policy to Deter Cheaters

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) will ban devices used by players to cheat in the popular battle royale game, according to publisher Krafton. The change in policy will take effect today, December 24, and Krafton will ban devices which are running software that helps gamers cheat. Cheating in popular games like Battlegrounds Mobile India or PUBG: New State can negatively impact the experience of other gamers. The device ban will be permanent, unlike the older policy of sanctioning the offending account, marking a change in how the game deals with cheaters.

Krafton shared the details of the policy to ban offending devices in a post on the game's website on Thursday. “If the use of illegal programs is detected with a mobile device by the newly applied security logic, the device will be permanently banned from using BGMI,” the developer explained. The game usually bans players' accounts if they are using an unofficial or modified version of the game, or have illegal auxiliary programs which help them cheat.

Meanwhile, Krafton has also been targeting cheating users, handing out permanent account bans. It recently announced that 99,583 Battlegrounds Mobile India accounts were permanently banned for cheating in a six-day time frame. While banning an account is effective, banning a device (which could be based on either the device ID or on the IP address) prevents cheating gamers from bypassing the ban and creating additional accounts on the same device.

Krafton has previously implemented measures to rein services which allow gamers to cheat, including preventing the recently released PUBG: New State from running on devices with Developer options enabled. Gamers regularly complain of in-game cheating on Krafton's social media channels. The company says it will continue to work towards eradicating cheating, including the use of unauthorised software in the game.