Indonesia targets violent video games after mosque bombing – but can a ban curb extremism?
Officials explicitly mentioned the wildly popular battle royale shooter PUBG: Battlegrounds as Indonesia weighs new regulations
Prasetyo Hadi, head of the Ministry of State Secretariat, told reporters two days later that Prabowo had instructed officials “to think about limiting and trying to find solutions to the [negative] effects of online [video] games”.
He specifically cited the wildly popular battle royale shooter PUBG: Battlegrounds, developed by South Korean firm Krafton, warning that its user-friendly gameplay and focus on combat made it a bad influence on impressionable young people.
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“Take PUBG, for example. We may restrict it. There are various types of weapons [in the game] and it’s very easy to learn, making it even more dangerous. Psychologically, people become accustomed to violence,” Prasetyo said.