PUBG ban

It has been a difficult few months for popular battle royale game, PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG). Since the turn of the year, the game has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. It has faced the wrath of authorities and concerned parents who have called for the government to ban the game.

The government for its part kept itself away from the issue, however, in the last month or so, we heard concerning stories about police authorities in Gujarat issuing notifications banning the game. The matter got so out of hand that arrests were also made to dissuade users from playing PUBG.

Now the game's developers appear to have buckled under the pressure and have reportedly issued a six-hour gameplay restriction for users in India. Tencent games which had earlier assured users that it was in contact with the authorities to get the ban lifted from the game has itself reportedly imposed a quasi ban.

As per reports doing the rounds on the internet, for Indian gamers, Tencent has imposed a 6-hour gameplay restriction. The extreme step was reportedly taken over the Holi holidays during which users took to Twitter to share how the game had started giving them health reminded, and even locking them out after prolonged gameplay sessions. The move has come as a shock to most users as there still hasn't been any official confirmation of the ban.

The self-imposed ban if true appears to be good news as it would certainly take some heat of the game and may even lead to the authorities relaxing their bans on it. Which would not only be good news for Tencent and PUBG, but also for thousands of players who want to play the game responsibly without falling on the wrong side of the law.

Earlier last week, eight people, including seven college students, were arrested in Gujarat for playing the game. The arrests came close on the heels of reports of Rajkot Police also booking as many as 10 people -- including students -- for playing the game.