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Afghanistan, ruled by the Taliban, became one of the latest countries to impose a ban on the popular mobile game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). It seems that the decision has been taken due to the violent gameplay involved in the battle royale game. PUBG is one of the most played games across the world since its release on Android, iPadOS and iOS.
The game presents excellent visuals and enthralling action, which has made it one of the most popular games in the world. However, as per South Asia Index, the Afghan Taliban believes that the game “promotes violence.” The social media users, on the other hand, have seen the funny side of the decision.
Here are some of the comments from users on Twitter regarding the ban:
When you can play PUBG in real life, why waste time and money on a virtual game? Chad Taliban.
— OSINT Insider (@OSINT_Insider) September 18, 2022
Who "plays" this game on mobile phones anymore in Afghanistan???
— Aiza Ali (@Arabela_Belaz) September 18, 2022
"Promoting Violence " do these people have any shame? The audacity.
— Asim (@Assssssssssssim) September 18, 2022
Same feelings! pic.twitter.com/9Ozo6982EV
— Ispoiderman?? (@zulqarnain7777) September 18, 2022
https://twitter.com/NSeharMir1/status/1571596342967013376
Bangladesh and India are other South Asian countries that ban PUBG. In India, the ban was imposed due to privacy and security concerns since the title seemingly collected and shared sensitive data of the users. The popular Battle Royale game later came back in India as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI).
Iran, Nepal, Jordan, Iraq and Israel, among many others, have also banned PUBG. There were also calls for the game to be banned in Pakistan, but it was later uplifted, and the game still runs in the country. Despite the bans in several countries, PUBG still remains to be a popular game in the gaming community. Its rise in popularity has also prompted to launching more of its variants, such as Game for Peace in China.
PUBG was inspired by the 2000 Japanese movie ‘Battle Royale’ which is based on mods formed by Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene for other games. PUBG: Battlegrounds sold more than 75 million copies on game consoles and personal computers at the stroke of 2021.