Just five days after its release, Tencent has taken the Jungle Adventure (also called Mysterious Jungle) mode out of PUBG Mobile. The mode has reportedly been removed for “offending some players” due to a “distressing gesture.”
The Sanhok-exclusive mode received a lot of backlash from the Islamic community since its release in PUBG Mobile. Comments from players across all of PUBG Mobile’s social platforms criticized the game for adding idol worship to the mode.
In the Jungle Adventure mode, players could pray in front of specific “totems” to gain health, energy, repair helmets/vests, and even receive items. These items included health kits, weapons, energy drinks, and more. Idol worshiping is prohibited in Islam, however.
“We are deeply sorry that some features in the game have offended some of our players,” Tencent said in a statement to Gulf News. “We respect the values, traditions, and practices of our players and regret the hurt and anguish that we’ve caused. We have removed the distressing gesture and are removing the relevant visuals.”
Even though Tencent said it was just removing the “distressing gesture” and “relevant visuals” and not the entire mode, Jungle Adventure is no longer available for players around the globe. It’s possible that Tencent has removed the mode for a limited time and will release it again after making some changes.
This article will be updated if more details are revealed.
Published: Jun 5, 2020 09:01 am