PUBG Mobile updates: 6-hour playtime restriction, major glitch fix, 20-year-old dies [Updated]

Updated on March 26, 2019:

This story reported on the death of a 20-year-old teen, who passed away due to PUBG addiction. But a new report in the light of the incident clarifies that the popular battle-royale game wasn't the reason behind the youth's death.

Dr Raj Kiran, an anesthesiologist at Bristlecone Hospitals, Barkatpura who treated Sagar confirmed that Sagar's unfortunate demise had absolutely no connection with PUBG MOBILE or any other game. 

"He was suffering from a serious infection and was undergoing treatment. Sagar's unfortunate demise has absolutely no connection with PUBG or any other games he may not have been addicted to. In fact, reports suggesting that he suffered paralysis are also false," Dr. Kiran noted.

Sagar's roommate, Harish Palkurthi confirmed that the viral 15-second clip was just an effort to make Sagar laugh and relieve him of his pain. "Sadly, it went viral and now everyone thinks he died because of playing PUBG. That's not true," Harish said.

Original story...

PUBG Mobile has become highly popular in India for both good and bad reasons. While on one hand, pro players are winning generous rewards through eSports championships, on the other hand, there are disturbing incidents of players dying due to the game's addiction.

People are lobbying for PUBG Mobile to be banned in India due to its adverse effects and some cities have already enacted on the ban request and arrested individuals for playing the viral game. Now, PUBG is trying to find a way to put all the negative press behind by rolling out a health-reminder and impose gameplay restriction.

6-hour restriction

While there's no official word on the gameplay restriction for PUBG Mobile players, reports are suggesting the Indian gamers will be asked to come back after 24 hours once they've played the game for six hours. PUBG Mobile is available globally, but the gameplay restriction appears to be only limited for Indian players.

The reason behind PUBG Mobile's move doesn't come as a surprise considering the game's controversial success in the country. While it continued to rake in millions of players, incidents like players losing interest in studies, losing mental balance, causing arrests and even committing suicides have cast a dark shadow on the PUBG Mobile in India.

PUBG did try to emerge from all the bad press by hosting eSports championships through which best players were rewarded handsomely. But there was little success even though PUBG was credited for bringing eSports competitions into the limelight. By caving in with a 6-hour gameplay restriction, PUBG Mobile could be able to prevent a ban completely (or not).

To consider this 6-hour restriction to curb addiction among players, it generously suffices to finish at least 6 matches. Any match doesn't exceed 30 minutes of gameplay, so six matches in a day is still a fair deal for players. In the case of Arcade players, which last about 15 minutes each, players will have plenty of time killing opponents and quenching the hunger for those "Chicken Dinners."

Another teen dies [Updated information above]

Even as the reports of PUBG's gameplay restriction are making the rounds, another serious incident is raising concerns of the game's existence in the first place. A 20-year-old teen from Telangana reportedly died due to extended gameplay.

According to the report, the young teen was constantly playing the game for the last 45 days, which resulted in serious neck pain. When the boy was admitted in a hospital in Hyderabad, doctors discovered the nerves in the teen's neck were completely damaged. The young boy died while undergoing treatment.

Incidents like these are really painting PUBG Mobile in a bad picture. Restricted gameplay can certainly help players overcome their addiction and play responsibly. It's not clear if players will be allowed to play the game for six hours in a stretch or PUBG will give a break every two hours, which could be more responsible.

Major glitch fix

Despite the serious controversies PUBG Mobile has gotten itself into, developers haven't stopped rolling out updates for to enhance the gaming experience. After rolling out PUBG Mobile 0.11.5 update to introduce new rifle, vehicle and several other enhancements, PUBG announced on Twitter that it finally fixed a major glitch that had users furious.

Players discovered the doors would not open automatically, which hindered the gaming experience for a long time. But the issue has now been fixed after two weeks since PUBG said it was working on a fix. Better late than never, eh?