On June 23, 2026, the Philippine's Philippine Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center's (CICC) issued a temporary ban on the sandbox game Gorebox after it linked one of the suspects of the recent Tacloban school shooting incident to the game.

The 2026 Tacloban school shooting occurred on June 22, 2026, at San Jose National High School in Tacloban, Philippines. Two Grade 9 students, aged 14 and 15, began a school shooting, which resulted in three students killed and 20 others injured. The case is notable as school shootings in the Philippines are extremely rare.

On June 23, 2026, the police issued an initial finding that the 14-year-old suspect was a frequent player of Gorebox, a violent, physics-driven sandbox game developed by German developer F²Games.^[1] The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center issued a temporary ban on the game. Police Regional Office 8 Director Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy stated that the temporary ban was made "as a precautionary measure pending the investigation". He added that the block will "allow authorities to conduct a thorough assessment and whether the platform played any role in the actions of the suspects".^[2]

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has also expressed openness to proposals restricting or banning violent online games in the country, in response to the shooting.^[3]

1. Police: Tacloban school shooting suspect played ‘violent’ game. June 23, 2026, at 10:59AM. Jason Sigales. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved on 2026-06-24.
2. CICC temporarily blocks GoreBox after Tacloban school shooting. June 23, 2026, at 3:53PM (PHT). Andrea Gregorio. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved on 2026-06-24.
3. Marcos open to curbs on violent online games after Tacloban shooting. June 23, 2026, at 5:00PM (PHT). Darryl John Esguerra. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved on 2026-06-24.