PUBG Mobile Bans Players Below 13 Years of Age in China

Online multiplayer battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, popularly known as PUBG, has been imposed with a digital lock and now users under 13 years of age would have to ask their guardians to open the game for them. Specifically, the PUBG Mobile version has received the restriction, a game developed by China's Tencent. The ban has been put in place only in China as of now.

"Tencent is continuing to double down on how it restricts younger players from accessing some of its games in China, this time with a digital lock system that will lock out players under the age of 13," gamesindustrybiz.com reported late on Friday.

Tencent has imposed the age restriction to support the Chinese government's crackdown on gaming addiction among the youth.

The gaming giant is using technologies like facial recognition and player ID checks to ascertain the ages and identities of those playing Honour of Kings and others in China.

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In addition, it has already imposed limits on how long young players can play the game, and imposed rules for streaming its game content, prohibiting things like violence, information about gambling or pornography, national politics, or other "damaging behaviour", the report added.

The Chinese government's concerns about myopia in children also set off a nine-month-long freeze on new video game approvals in the country in 2018 that ended in December.

Tencent has introduced a number of systems over the past two years to make sure minors play games in a healthy manner, including a decision in 2017 which restricted minors' access to most of its games to just one hour a day. 

Launched in December 2017, PUBG is a multiplayer battle game that connects users from around the world in real-time and allows them to fight missions, and is known to indulge players into long hours of gaming. It was developed by the PUBG Corporation. PUBG Mobile on the other hand was launched in February last year, and is developed by Tencent Games.

Written with inputs from IANS