PUBG Mobile Pakistan Temporarily Suspended, Will The Same Thing Happen In India?

PUBG Mobile is considered the beacon of the Battle Royale games made specifically for portable devices. The game is undoubtedly attractive, well, too attractive as it’s often under scrutiny in the eyes of authorities. A recent measure was taken by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to combat the possible outcome of the game. It announced that PUBG Mobile is now temporarily suspended in the country. Will the same thing happen to other nations, including India?

Being a popular game captivating millions of players worldwide, there’s no guarantee that the developers can completely control their gigantic demographic. Cases of severe addiction were reported regularly. According to Pakistan media, the country has recorded multiple suicides relating to the Battle Royale game. Therefore, Honorable Lahore High Court directs the PTA to take matters into consideration after receiving numerous complaints. In this regard, a hearing will be conducted on July 9th, 2020.

“PTA has received numerous complaints against PUBG wherein it is stated that the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of the children.”, PTA said in a statement. 

On the PTA Twitter account, there’s a tweet uploaded to specify the situation. It states that several cases of suicide are suspected to be related to the addiction of PUBG Mobile, as reported by the media. Therefore, they’re holding a hearing to observe the opposers’ point of view. The PTA asked the public citizen to raise their voice on the issue, giving their feedback on the popular BR game. Then a final judgment regarding the temporary ban will be considered. In addition, Pakistan also employs a 6-hour gaming limit. The game is forced to stop after hitting the 6-hour of playtime, and players can only log in the next day. 

These are considered extreme measures taken to combat the possibly harmful effects of PUBG Mobile from the PTA. It also calls for the developers, Tencent Games, to introduce new policies to control the demographic and prevent pro-longed addiction. If not, a global ban on PUBG Mobile is an entire possibility. 

Indian authorities are also looking at the potential threat of PUBG Mobile to the country's young demographic. There are known cases of suicide regarding the "overdose" of the game. Most recently, a teenager in Rajasthan’s Kota was found dead in his home after playing PUBG Mobile, as reported by the HindutsanTimes. The intensity of the situation escalated as the wave to remove "made in China" apps continues to rise.

In more detail, you can download the "Remove China Apps" to detect and completely uninstall these from your devices. More and more users, in India as well as in the rest of the world are concern about their online security after popular Chinese apps such as TikTok accused of stealing personal information. Therefore, should there be no actions taken from Tencent Games, it's highly likely that PUBG Mobile will suffer from the same ending in India as it did in Pakistan.