Parents of a teenager from Punjab allegedly claim that their son spend Rs 16 lakh on PUBG Mobile.
The transactions were done secretly over a month.
The boy's father has made him work at a scooter repair shop.
While PUBG Mobile was making headlines about its new Livik map and being excluded from the list of banned Chinese apps, a piece of a bizarre report from Punjab's Kharar town has surfaced. As per a report by The Tribune, a 17-year-old allegedly spent Rs 16 lakh making in-app purchases on PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) Mobile.
PUBG Mobile has faced a lot of flack in the past as cases of minors doing suicides and instances of young ones losing lives due to heart attack, and stroke rose in numbers. While the loss of life is damaging, this case from Punjab is equally saddening. The parents have claimed the amount was set aside as savings for the teenager's father's medical expenses and their son's future needs. On top of that, the boy also emptied his mother's provident fund and his own account balance.
The boy's parents were too late to realise that their 17-year-old has spent such a massive amount on PUBG Mobile. According to the report, the boy's father is making him work at a scooter repair shop to make him realise the value of hard-earned money.
Here's how the 17-year-old spent Rs 16 lakh on PUBG Mobile
PUBG Mobile, like most games these days, offers in-app purchases that players may want to buy to stand out from the majority. The boy reportedly spent on purchasing virtual credits to get in-app items, including artillery, exclusive passes for tournaments, and virtual credits over a month's duration.
The Tribune details that the boy used to play PUBG on his parents' phones. Assuming that he'd use the phone for online studies, the parents gave their phone to their son, who instead used to play PUBG Mobile. His father also alleged that his son had all account details as he used to make online payments for his mother’s kitty party.
The boy, being aware that his parents had saved their bank card details in the phone, did excessive spending from his father's bank account. His father said his son did transactions on PUBG Mobile and then deleted the bank messages. Unaware of the transactions, the parents were shocked to see the spends when they checked the bank statement.
The boy used three accounts – his father's, his mother's PF account, and his own bank account where his father used to save some money. He used to shuffle credits between the three bank accounts to avoid any suspicion. It made it even tougher for the parents to find out about the spends. “After we received details from the bank, I found that on several occasions, he shuffled amount from one bank to another to avoid nil balance. He was using his mother’s phone for quite sometime and she was not much vigilant to notice this,” said his resentful father.
How does PUBG Mobile earn money through in-app purchases?
PUBG Mobile is free to play. You just have to install the game, create a profile and start playing. But isn't this strange how PUBG Mobile made the highest revenue (mobile games) in May and June?
In-app purchase may not be the only source of revenue for games like PUBG Mobile, but it's a major contributor to the number. If you notice, the game is often updated with fresh items in the store, new seasons, royal pass and other items like costumes, skins, emotes, guns and similar. While some of it is free, there's always something exclusive for the players who own a special pass. PUBG Mobile's addiction in youth has shown toxic signs in the past, and this case scratches a completely new aspect of it.
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