Negative reports about the mobile game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Mobile) have been coming from India since 2019: the game has been banned in India since September 2020 because it allegedly sends data to China. Horrific news circulates regularly in the Indian media, intended to show how dangerous and addictive the game is – especially for young men.
This is the news: The “Times of India” reports on an incident in the Indian city of Bhaglabur, a city of about 410,000 inhabitants (via timesofindia).
The parents of 17-year-old Roshan Kumar were worried about their son because he did not come out of his room when called for dinner on Friday. When the boy still had not left his room on Saturday, they broke down the door and found the young man hanged in his room.
The Times of India reports on the family: They believe their son committed suicide because he lost a match in PUBG Mobile. It is said that he had always become very angry about that. The family suspects that such a defeat might have happened to the boy on Friday evening as well. According to other sources cited by the site, the boy was “addicted to PUBG”.
However, as other sources from the site report, it is said that the boy was unhappy because he was in love with a young woman who had rejected him. This rejection made him very sad.
The boy’s father said: He and his older son had been busy delivering newspapers since early morning. He could not comment on his son’s death.
Important note: If dark thoughts haunt you: you are not alone. Please seek help. For example, at the phone counseling service at 0800/111 0 111 or the online counseling, where you can also use a chat. It is free and nationwide.
Since 2019, horror reports about PUBG have been coming from India
What is it with PUBG and India? The game “PUBG Mobile” plays a special role in the Indian media.
Actually, India is not a computer market, hardly anyone owns a PC or consoles, but people have smartphones. PUBG was primarily a PC hit here in the West until it was replaced by Fortnite in 2018, but in India, the mobile version has spread extremely.
At the beginning of the PUBG hype in India, there were still quite bizarre reports: In May 2019, it was said from India that a groom was so fascinated by PUBG that he preferred to play PUBG on his own wedding and ignored his bride.
Some time later, in the summer of 2019, PUBG seemed to become a thorn in the side of the authorities and media in India: Reports kept emerging suggesting that young people became so addicted to PUBG Mobile that they lost their lives:
- Once a player was so absorbed in PUBG Mobile that he drank acid when trying to reach for water
- In another story, people lost their lives because they were so fascinated by PUBG Mobile that they were hit by a train
- In July 2019, Indian media reported that a 15-year-old boy had killed his older brother because he wouldn’t let him play PUBG Mobile.
All of this is seen in the Indian media as evidence that PUBG makes people addicted and violent, while U.S. media express doubts about the direction of the reporting. For instance, it is known that deaths caused by trains are widespread in India. In 2012 alone, 15,000 people died crossing railway tracks.
PUBG Mobile has already been banned twice in India
How does the government deal with PUBG Mobile? The game was banned in India in September 2020 because it was suspected of sending strategically important data to China. It was said that the game threatens national security.
Subsequently, a special version for India, “Battlegrounds Mobile India,” was released, but this was also banned in July 2022.
