#GamingBytes: PUBG usage restriction a bug, players can play uninterrupted
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) had recently garnered criticism from the Indian community after it reportedly put a 6 hours/day playing restriction, citing 'health risks'. In a recent tweet, the company has clarified that the restriction and the health reminder were bugs, and have been fixed in the new update. Players can now play the game uninterrupted. Here's all you need to know.
PUBG faced strong criticism in India owing to addiction cases
Due to its addictive nature, gamers spend long hours playing it. A big chunk of its community consists of students and PUBG was reportedly hampering their studies. There were reports of deaths and addiction concerns as well. Notably, it was banned in multiple districts of Gujarat. Last week, PUBG had restricted players for six hours/day, which was thought as a feature by many.
Players under 18 received PUBG's health reminder, age verification prompt
In several cases, players younger than 18 were getting health reminders and age verification prompts two-four hours before reaching the six-hour limit. This was thought to be a measure to curb addiction. Notably, there wasn't any official announcement from Tencent regarding this measure. However, a recent tweet from PUBG Mobile India has clarified that the message was a system error and has been fixed.
We deeply apologize for the inconvenience, tweets PUBG Mobile India
Here's what the tweet said: "Dear Players, Basis feedback from the community, we have now changed the Birthday Crate. The Healthy Gameplay System error has also been fixed, and you should be able to play uninterrupted. Lastly, payment systems are back up and running. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience." This comes as a relief to regular players who weren't appreciative of the ban.
Healthy Gameplay System error has also been fixed, company informs
Despite negative reports, PUBG enjoys colossal popularity in India
PUBG has more than 400 million players and a substantial part of this community resides in India. The game has gained immense popularity owing to increasing Internet penetration. Its popularity, however, has led to incidents like arrests and in some cases, deaths. The gaming community had been divided over the restriction, with some lauding it as the right step and others advocating interruption-free gameplay.
