PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds, more commonly known as PUBG, has been facing a lot of backlash from parents and government bodies alike, especially in India and China, after players have been found to get addicted to PUBG Mobile, even being victims of cyberbullying; moreover, PUBG games have also been criticized for immoral advertising conducts such as misogyny, violence, murder, aggression, and looting.
To counter this and to create “a healthy and balanced in-game environment”, as had been said by PUBG Mobile developers, it had been declared that new features would be added to the game.
Following this, Tencent, the developer behind the eSport, has imposed a parental control ‘digital lock’ in PUBG in order to control gaming addiction and cyberbullying for players under the age of 13. This digital lock would require their parents to unlock the game for the under-13 players.
This parental control digital lock would also be introduced in the Chinese version of the PUBG app as well as in the game Honor of Kings.’ PUBG Mobile itself has over 30 million daily active players at present.
To counter the rising gaming addiction in its youth and also the problem of near-sightedness in minors, the Chinese government announced many restrictions on online games and laid down rules for gamers under an age group that would reduce on-screen time.
In India, the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has instructed the Directorate of Education (DOE) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools to be vigilant about the harmful effects of unfavorable games and to protect children from them.
PUBG, in fact, has been banned from schools in Gujarat; An 11-year-old child from Maharashtra sent a letter appealing to the state and the central governments to ban the game.
In a tragic incident, a 19-year-old boy committed suicide after his guardians refused to buy him a phone so that he could play PUBG Mobile.
The digital lock feature has not yet been released in India, and it is expected that it would be available to Indian gamers very soon, that might help curb violence and addiction in children.
