Afghan Taliban bans PUBG in country for "promoting violence"

Afghan Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is the newest country to impose a ban on the popular Battle Royale shooter PUBG (Mobile version). The decision seems to have been taken after considering the highly intense and violent gameplay of the Tencent Games-backed battle royale game.

It is a well-known fact that the title has been one of the most popular games since its release on Android, iOS, and iPadOS platforms. It offers high-octane action and impressive visual quality, which are also significant factors behind its enormous fame. Unfortunately, the recent announcement means PUBG will be banned in Afghanistan.

---

Taliban bans PUBG in Afghanistan for its violence-inducing gameplay

According to South Asia Index, the Afghan Taliban thinks the Tencent Games' title "promotes violence." However, the decision by the group has not sat well with netizens, who have created memes or passed sarcastic comments regarding the same. Here are some reactions to the decision from various Twitter users:

Interestingly, Afghanistan is not the only country to ban the popular game, as other South Asian nations like Bangladesh and India have also done the same in the past. In India's case, the decision was taken due to the issues related to privacy and security, as the title seemed to collect and share sensitive user data.

The famous BR shooter later made a return in India as Battlegrounds Mobile India but was banned again for the same reason in July 2022.

The Indian government has banned the popular game twice (Image via Sportskeeda)

Apart from India, other countries that have banned the Tencent Games/Krafton-backed title include Iran, Nepal, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, and more. Additionally, there were calls for the game's ban in Pakistan, but the prohibition was later lifted, and the game is still available there.

PUBG Mobile and its variants are still active in various countries (Image via Sportskeeda)

Despite getting banned in different countries, PUBG Mobile has remained a fan favorite. The game's increasing popularity has led to the rise of several variants, like Game for Peace (China), for different servers/regions. Whether Afghanistan will witness something similar remains to be seen.

Moreover, the title's humongous fan-following also forced developers to launch a Lite variant (Android exclusive) for their popular game to cater to low-end smartphone users. Currently, PUBG Mobile is running on the 2.2 version, which developers launched the previous week on September 13, 2022.