Police in India have arrested 10 college students for playing the popular battle royale game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on their smartphones. The game, a rival to Fortnite has taken the country by storm and it seems the authorities are keen to slow down the popularity as they believe it has become a danger to its players.
According to one local cop, the players were so focused on the game that they didn’t even notice the police approaching them. The students were released on bail earlier, although the exact punishments they may face for playing the game is not clear at the moment.
The game is still legal to play in India, although the state of Gujarat has singled out this game in particular after concerns regarding the violence from parents. However, Fortnite Battle Royale doesn’t seem to be affected by any of the concerns which may be down to the cartoon graphics style it has incorporated.
India is considered as being an extremely important market for mobile gaming especially with over 40% of Indian mobile gamers spending an hour every day playing mobile games. Bluehole will be hoping that the controversy around the game dies down and that a solution can be found for the ban in Gujarat before it spreads to other parts of India and starts affecting their sales.
Have you been affected by the ban on PUBG? And if so, will you continue to play it in secret?
