Over the past few months in particular, the word banned has become common in gaming headlines. While many bans are related to content creators, game companies and even governments have also jumped on the banning bandwagon.
Often gaming bans are justified. We can get behind the bans for smurfing, piggy-backing and outright cheating. However, some of these gaming sanctions are downright crazy. From punishments related to political views to banning entire games in a country, here are 5 of the most bogus game bans we’ve seen.
Bethesda Bans The Only People Who Actually Play Fallout 76
Ninja Banned From Apex Legends After Presenting Them With An Award
In a spectacularly ironic moment, streaming giant Ninja tried to log into Apex Legends while live to discover that he had been banned from the game.
After deciding he wanted a change he jumped into the game, which he had presented a Best Multiplayer Game award to just days earlier at The Game Awards. After logging in he discovered the ban, forcing a switch to Dead By Daylight.
Blizzard Bans Everyone From Everything
Blizzard’s Hearthstone sounds like it should be the least controversial title on the company’s roster but this year, thanks to some politics, it is knee-deep in an ongoing controversy that has seen bans galore handed out.
It all started when Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai had his competition winnings stripped and was slapped with a one year ban from competitive play after making a political statement about Hong Kong. The two casters who were interviewing him also faced harsh punishments, despite not making political statements themselves.
The reaction was so swift and extreme even Jeff Kaplan spoke out against it and Reddit started a movement to #BoycottBlizzard. Amid the chaos, it was also discovered that Hearthstone forum users speaking out have been slapped with 1000 year bans. Ouch!
We’d love to say it ended there but Blizzard’s president, despite apologizing, still stands by the decision.
Australia Refuses Classification To “Immoral” Games That Have Previously Been Classified
PUBG Mobile Banned After Public Outcry
Back in March of last year, Indian districts of Rajkot, Bhavnagar, and Gir Somnath all banned PUBG Mobile after a public outcry citing concerns for children’s welfare. The move came due to fears of addiction, violence and antisocial behavior.
Just a few weeks later similar cries went up in other areas, with prominent people demanding similar bans.
PREVIOUSLY: Following Prince Harry’s Call For Fortnite To Get Banned, PUBG Gets Shut Down (In Nepal) Instead.
To the best of our knowledge, these bans remain in place, with some players reportedly being arrested for playing the game shortly after the ban went into effect. Since then further developments have included Bhutan also making moves to ban PUBG.
However, this hasn’t seemed to stop the mighty juggernaut that is PUBG Mobile, with the game recently surpassing a record-breaking $1 billion in revenue.
NEXT: Why We Need More Console Games On Mobile
