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PUBG Mobile banned in several Indian cities

Ban will be in place until March 30th, 2019.

PUBG Mobile banned in several Indian cities

Tencent’s PUBG Mobile has been banned in several Indian cities with jail time threatened for those that are caught playing the portable shooter.

As reported by The Quint, Rajkot Police announced plans for the ban via social media citing a growing concern that PUBG promotes violence. It was also claimed that children were performing poorly in exams, and that the game was in part to blame.

The ban will run from March 9th to March 30th, 2019. It was also stated that anyone taking part in the internet ‘Momo challenge’ will also face the same penalties - a slightly bizarre mention given it has been confirmed as a hoax.

10 people arrested

Since the Rajkot ban went into place, 10 people have been arrested in the country for playing PUBG Mobile, according to The Indian Express

“We want to give a stern message that the notification banning PUBG won’t remain just on paper,” said a senior police officer.

Since releasing in February 2018, PUBG Mobile surpassed 100 million downloads on Google Play worldwide.


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Deputy Editor

Matthew Forde is the deputy editor at PocketGamer.biz and also a member of the Pocket Gamer Podcast. You can find him on Twitter @MattForde64 talking about stats, data and everything pop culture related - particularly superheroes.