Indonesia is weighing restrictions on video games like PUBG following a school blast in Jakarta that injured nearly a hundred.
President Prabowo Subianto ordered his cabinet to look into such measures after receiving updates about the police investigation into the act, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi told reporters in Jakarta on Sunday.
Developed by South Korea’s Krafton Inc, PUBG: Battlegrounds is an online multiplayer shooting game that popularised the battle royale genre alongside games like Fortnite and Free Fire. When asked for examples of games that may be subject to new curbs, Hadi named only the Korean title, whose PUBG Mobile, created in partnership with Tencent Holdings Ltd, is popular in Indonesia.
"We’re thinking about restrictions because, in these games, there’s many different kinds of weapons. It’s easy to learn. And, psychologically, it makes violence a normal thing,” he said, without elaborating on the form of restrictions contemplated.
Krafton representatives were not immediately reachable and Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Close to 100 people were injured in an explosion at a school mosque in North Jakarta on Friday, just as people were gathering for regular prayers. Authorities are investigating a student’s alleged involvement in the blast. – Bloomberg
