Indonesian Muslim group in Aceh says PUBG Mobile ‘haram’, PUBG Mobile responds

A few days ago, a Muslim group in Aceh called a fatwa on the popular online mobile shooter PUBG Mobile. The group claims that such a game insults the Muslim religion and causes players to be addicted to violence.

PUBG Mobile is a battle royale online shooter for mobile devices. In the game, players fight each other in a virtual arena and the last one standing wins. As it is a third-person shooter, the game features lots of guns and the need to shoot at other virtual avatars.

The Muslim group called for residents of Aceh to stop playing the game and urged the local government to consider an official ban. As mentioned, the reason given is that the game could encourage violent behavior in young people.

PUBG MOBILE responded by releasing the statement below:

We appreciate the support and trust given to us by our PUBG MOBILE players. At PUBG MOBILE, we believe that it is extremely important for us to be a socially responsible member of the gaming ecosystem, while we strive to deliver the best possible gaming experience to our fans. We are aware of the recent issuance of fatwa in a province in Indonesia.

On our end, we constantly work and shall continue to work with different stakeholders, including parents, educators, government bodies and the e-sport community, to engage in conversations and listening to their feedback on what we can do to foster a balanced in-game environment for players. Prior to the issuance of fatwa, we have implemented the “Gameplay Management” system globally, including in Indonesia, in May 2019 as a testament to provide players a sustainable digital lifestyle. We are also continuously developing new features to provide an environment for players to enjoy PUBG MOBILE in a rewarding yet responsible manner.

We are honored to have a passionate community of PUBG MOBILE players in Indonesia and globally and continue to welcome their feedback to make PUBG MOBILE greater!

It should be noted that this topic is bound to draw attention in these few days, considering that the PUBG MOBILE Club Open SEA Finals is being held at Jakarta this weekend.

However, there hasn’t been any official response from any government authorities in regards to this debacle. If you’re a PUBG Mobile player from Indonesia, you probably don’t have to worry about this anytime soon.

Source: Channel News Asia