BGMI drops a branded content miniseries on YouTube

That Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) is one of the, if not, the most popular mobile gaming app in India should not make news.

Its storied history of exile and then return to India under a new name and parent company, its over 100 million downloads on the Google Play Store, and faces like Ranveer Singh and Hardik Pandya endorsing it are enough evidence of its legacy, reach, and popularity.

And yet, the mobile gaming app from Krafton India is not satisfied. To further cement itself deeper into existing users’ minds, and wider into potential ones’ psyche, BGMI has, over the past 10 days, released eight episodes as part of a branded content miniseries called Double Trouble In Erangel.

Erangel was the first playable map created for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) which left India after the central government banned it and over 100 other Chinese apps after border skirmishes in 2020.

The game returned to India in 2021 as BGMI but the government again banned it in 2022 only for it to return in May 2023.

Double Trouble In Erangel is an eight-episode series available on BGMI’s YouTube page, and all the episodes are less than three-and-a-half minutes in length.

It is a funny tale of BGMI players Nikhil and Siddhi, and how their blooming tale of love is lost in a web of double trouble after her sister Riddhi falls for him. And yes, there is a BGMI tournament which the two have to prepare for.

Like any branded content series, the episodes are filled with puns of the brand are a fun watch for BGMI players, and help build intrigue for the fence-sitters without being too pushy.

Double Trouble In Erangel was created and produced by New Delhi-based Rusk Studios, a GenZ-first digital entertainment company as per its LinkedIn bio.

The mini-series has, as of November 28, 2023, amassed over 6.54 million views. BGMI has another such series Bolti Bandh in the pipeline.

Such views will most likely bring new users to the game which, by the way, is free to play. So, one of the ways the app makes revenue is through in-app purchases.

A 131-second ad from 22feet Tribal Worldwide aimed to promote the BGMI’s Royale Pass that lets gamers buy in-game elements such as emotes, parachutes and outfits.

The game’s advertising reached a zenith in 2023 and 2022 when it won big at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

DDB Mudra won a bronze in the ‘Entertainment Lions for Gaming’ in 2023 and the ‘Film Lions’ category in 2022 for its work on BGMI.