Philippine authorities announced the temporary blocking of the online gaming app GoreBox. The decision comes days after a serious shooting incident at a school in the Asian country, which resulted in the death of three students and left 20 others injured.
According to investigators, one of the two teenagers suspected of opening fire on students at the San Jose National School, located in the city of Tacloban, had a habit of playing GoreBox. The game allows users to wield various weapons and features scenes of explicit violence.
In the official description available on Google Play, GoreBox is presented as a platform where players can “engage in brutal combat with an extensive arsenal of weapons and explosives.” The description also highlights the presence of “raw realistic ragdoll physics effects and an intense gore system that brings the dismemberment to life.”
Launched in 2023 by developer F2 Games, the application has already surpassed the 10 million download mark on Google Play alone. The title has an age rating of R18+ (for people over 18) by the International Age Rating Coalition, justified by the representations of extreme violence it displays.
The company responsible for developing the game did not offer any immediate statement on the matter.
The Philippine Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC) said the temporary ban on the mobile app was implemented as a preventive measure while investigations into the case remain ongoing.
“We cannot ignore possible online influences that may have contributed to this tragic incident,” said CICC Undersecretary Aboy Paraiso.
Provisionally blocking the game will allow authorities to assess whether the platform in any way influenced the suspects’ actions, Paraiso explained.
Paraiso added that, in addition to the temporary measure, the center is intensifying its monitoring efforts to identify other online environments that may pose risks to young users and ensure immediate interventions. “Our priority is the safety and well-being of Filipino children exposed to the internet,” he said.
Although crimes involving the use of firearms are common in the Philippines, in part due to the large amount of unlicensed weapons in circulation, school shootings are considered relatively uncommon events in the country, highlighting the seriousness of the incident.
Philippine police told local media that initial interviews suggest the suspects, ninth graders aged 14 and 15, were possibly bullied. The aggression would have been motivated by retaliation. Both are in police custody.
The Justice Department is also investigating the hypothesis that the shooting is part of a trend of nihilistic violent extremism. This phenomenon is characterized by the execution of acts of extreme violence, devoid of a cohesive and traditional ideological framework.
The Philippine Human Rights Commission has expressed grave concern over other recent reports of violence in school settings. Among them, two stabbing incidents that occurred in the last week stand out, one at the Cavite National School and the other at the Bethel Academy of General Trias, both in the province of Cavite.
“These incidents highlight the urgent need to strengthen measures to prevent violence and protect students,” the commission said in an official statement.