This month, Indian authorities temporarily banned PUBG Mobile in several cities across the country. At least ten people, most of them students, were arrested due to excessive enthusiasm for the battle royale, which was blamed for several deaths. Soon, users began to receive sudden notifications about the interruption of the gaming session: the developers reminded that staying in the game for too long could be harmful to their health, and offered to return to it later.
Users on Twitter and Reddit spoke about unexpected notifications. Players are informed that they have reached their session duration limit and will only be able to resume play after some time. One of the screenshots below says six hours a day, but some clarified that sometimes this happens after two or four hours. Gamers have noticed that this depends on the age specified during registration (it is more strict for those under 18 years old). The developers are probably currently testing this innovation, since it does not work for everyone (however, it does not seem to be limited to India). Similar anti-addiction measures are being implemented in China, where games are allowed to be sold after passing strict censorship.
As Indian resources explained, the ban on PUBG Mobile was introduced on March 9 and will be lifted on March 30. Anyone who violates it is arrested under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (“Disobedience to an order lawfully issued by public servants”). The maximum penalty under this section is imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees. Initially, the ban applied only to two cities in the state of Gujarat - Rajkot and Surat - but later the initiative was supported by the authorities of other districts. They are of the opinion that PUBG Mobile causes gaming addiction, harms health and provokes aggressive behavior.
As part of the investigation, mobile devices were confiscated from those taken into custody. According to investigator Rohit Raval, some were so carried away by the shooter that they did not even notice the approach of law enforcement officials. Anyone caught by the police playing PUBG Mobile is advised to strictly obey their orders - exit the game, turn off the phone and do not object. In this case, it may be possible to avoid prison punishment. Moreover, it is recommended that parents and teachers monitor teenagers, since many hide the fact that they are playing a shooter (which is also a violation of the law).
Indian authorities took extreme measures after several high-profile cases associated with PUBG Mobile. For example, a student committed suicide after his parents refused to buy him a smartphone for a battle royale, and a ten-year-old child withdrew 50 thousand rupees from his father’s bank account to spend it on virtual purchases in the game and a gamepad. Gambling addiction is also being considered as the cause of death of a 20-year-old young man.
The free-to-play PUBG Mobile was released by the Chinese company Tencent Games in 2018 for Android and iOS.
Source: 3dnews.ru