In what appears to be a move to appease government regulators around the world, PUBG Mobile is putting in place what it calls a "Gameplay Management" system.
The goal of this system is to help promote healthy gaming behaviors among players. At its core, the gameplay management system targets players that are under 18 years of age. This is the first time that a mobile game has offered such a feature.
Before they even get a chance to boot the game up, underaged players need to acknowledge a gaming advisory. Once that's done, the system kicks in and provides pop-up notifications in order to remind young players to either stop playing the game or take a rest.
The Gameplay Management system is now live in countries like Egypt, India, Indonesia, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. This new feature is scheduled to be released to other markets at a later date. It is easy to notice that majority of the countries mentioned are in the Middle East. This is not surprising, considering PUBG has in fact been banned in a number of countries that include India, Iraq, and Nepal.
PUBG Mobile was initially slated for release in China towards the end of 2018. However, the Chinese approvals board has forced the game to shut down in the country. Developer Tencent has since said that it will no longer market PUBG Mobile in China. Instead it will release a similar battle royale game called Game for Peace. Unlike PUBG, this alternate game is able to meet the strict guidelines of China, as it removes blood and gore.
This is not the first time that Tencent had to implement new measures. Back in 2017, the company implemented what it called a “digital lock” to its Honor of Kings. This was applicable to players 16 years and below, and in order to play, kids need to get the consent of their parents. Even if they do get to play, the system ensures that each gaming session only lasts for two hours.
There is still no word from PUBG if the same Gameplay Manager System will be released to the other platforms like consoles and PC.
