PUBG Mobile has issued a statement in light of criticism and said it is ready to work with all stakeholders, including parents. The statement comes in light of statements calling for a ban of PUBG in India.PUBG Mobile’s team has issued a statement saying that it recognises the need for responsible gaming and will work with all stakeholders to “provide features and enhancements which make for a friendly and healthy gaming ecosystem.” The statement comes after PUBG Mobile has faced criticism in India, especially from parents, college authorities and even some government officials over fears that children in India are addicted to the game.
In an official statement, PUBG Mobile said “We appreciate the support and trust given to us by our PUBG MOBILE players. While we strive to deliver the best possible gaming experience to our fans, we also believe that it is extremely important for us to be a responsible member of the gaming ecosystem. To this end, we constantly work and shall continue to work with different stakeholders, including parents, educators and government bodies, and listening to their feedback on what we can do to enhance the overall PUBG Mobile experience.”
When PM Modi say ‘Yeh PUBG wala hai kya’
The statement further adds that the company is working on “developing numerous new features and enhancements which enables us to provide an environment for players to enjoy PUBG MOBILE in a rewarding and responsible manner.” It is unclear what these features could be that would allow the game to be played in a ‘responsible manner’.
The statement ends by saying the company will continue to feedback from its community in India and globally in order to make PUBG Mobile “the best game” ever.
The criticism is that more and more children are addicted to PUBG. While PUBG has a total of 200 million users worldwide, there’s no clarity on the number of India users as well.
The issue of addiction to PUBG Mobile has been highlighted recently in India. In January, Indian Express had reported that Gujarat State Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama requested the central government to allow Gujarat government to impose a ban on online and mobile games like PUBG.
“To avoid the negative impact of internet gaming, to which children and youth are addicted, Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama has requested the central government to allow Gujarat government to impose a ban on such negative games like PUBG,” is what an official statement from the minister’s office said.
Earlier it was reported that the Gujarat government’s state primary education department had issued a circular saying that district authorities should take steps to ban the PUBG Mobile game.
The report also quoted Jagruti Pandya, chairperson of the Gujarat child rights body as saying that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) recommended a ban on PUBG Mobile across the country. Exactly how a ban like this will be executed is unclear.
In December it was reported that authorities in the men’s hostel of Vellore Institue of Technology (VIT) in Tamil Nadu also issued a circular banning students from playing PUBG Mobile in their rooms. A photo of the circular issued by the authorities was shared on Instagram and Reddit.
The circular read, “It has come to our notice that few students are playing online games like ‘PUBG’ which is NOT PERMITTED.” The circular further said the game was “spoiling the entire atmosphere of the hostel” and students were warned from playing this.
PUBG Mobile also managed to hit the headline when Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, ‘Ye PUBG wala hey kya,’ in reply to a concerned parent’s question during his Pariksha Par Charcha 2.0 session where he interacted with students and their parents.
PM Modi’s reply was in response to a query by Madhumita Sengupta, a parent from New Delhi who complained that her child was now distracted by online games and that his performance had deteriorated
