Additional Sessions Judge Riaz Ahmed awarded the punishment to Ali Zain, a PUBG-obsessed convict, who was 14 years old when he committed the crime.

The court said the convict’s young age was taken into account, sentencing him to four life terms instead of capital punishment.

The tragic incident occurred in January 2022, when Zain, enraged after failing to achieve targets in the popular online game PUBG, picked up his mother’s pistol and went on a shooting spree inside his home.

According to case details, Zain first shot his mother, a lady health worker, while she was asleep in her room. He then turned the gun on his two sisters — 15-year-old Mahnoor Fatima and 10-year-old Jannat — killing them instantly.

When his elder brother, 20-year-old Taimoor Sultan, rushed in after hearing the commotion, Zain shot him dead as well.

A senior police officer said the teenager was a habitual PUBG player who spent most of his time locked in his room gaming.

On the day of the murders, hours of continuous play followed by failure to meet an in-game target pushed him into a fit of rage.

After the killings, Zain attempted to stage the crime scene, throwing the pistol into a nearby drain and pretending to be asleep in his room.

However, investigators noticed blood stains and his suspicious behavior, eventually piecing together the evidence. Following days of intense questioning, Zain confessed to the murders.

Police confirmed it was not the first PUBG-linked crime in Lahore.

This case marked the fourth such incident, with three previous cases involving teenagers who had committed suicide allegedly due to the game’s intense psychological impact.

In 2020, after the first such case, then Lahore CCPO Zulfiqar Hameed had even recommended banning PUBG to “save young lives” from its dangerous influence.