Image: Flickr
I was scrolling through my phone at a restaurant last month, when the waiter suddenly pointed at me and said, “PUBG?”. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds or PUBG has quickly become one of those rare gaming phenomena that has taken over the general public bringing together sections of Indian society like never before. It’s one of the most popular multi-platform mobile games in the world, and as of January 2018, had over 400 million players. As we figured from our foray into esports in India, PUBG competitions pay out in thousands, sometimes lakhs. When there’s such monies involved, in comes the cheating.In a first-of-its-kind move, PUBG has banned 30,000 gamers from across the world on mobile, including pro-gamers, over the Radar Hack cheat, which was helping players gain an unprecedented advantage over others, where players using Radar hacking can get the exact location of the other players via a second screen or mobile app, making it easier for them to locate and kill other players win.The ban is big news, as it even banned a gamer who had made $36,000 playing the game. But it isn’t the only PUBG-ban news circulating in India. A fake legal notice is being shared on Facebook and WhatsApp in India claiming that the ‘High Court of Maharashtra’ has banned PUBG in India.
The ban is, unlike the Radar Hack ban, complete #fakenews.So this holiday season, you can still spend time with your loved one, ie your favourite video game.
Advertisement