The violent sandbox game GoreBox is no longer available on Google Play and Steam in the Philippines, marking the full enforcement of a ban that began as a temporary measure just over a week earlier. The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) confirmed the takedown, saying Google had granted the government’s request to block access to the game nationwide, including its online multiplayer component.

According to the CICC, the restriction stops users in the Philippines from downloading GoreBox and makes the game unplayable past its loading screen for those who had already installed it. The takedown followed a meeting on Monday between the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the CICC, and representatives from Google Philippines and Google LLC, where DICT Secretary Henry Aguda pushed for nationwide restriction of the game until minors could no longer easily access it. Steam, the PC gaming platform that also hosted GoreBox, complied with the same restriction.

“With this restriction, we are assured that minors will no longer be able to access such a violent game,” Aguda said in the CICC’s statement.

The push to block GoreBox traces back to June 23, when the CICC first announced a temporary ban after police investigating the school shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City found that one of the two teenage suspects, a 14 year old Grade 9 student, was an avid player of the game. The shooting, which took place a day earlier on June 22, left three students dead and at least 20 others wounded. CICC Undersecretary Alexander “Aboy” Paraiso said at the time that the block was a precautionary step while the investigation continued, noting that authorities could not rule out online influences on the actions of the minors involved. The agency also made clear that the ban was not a finding that the game caused the attack, only a measure to protect other young users while the probe went on.

GoreBox first launched in 2023 for Android before arriving on Steam that same year. It describes itself as a physics driven sandbox game centered on unrestricted destruction, letting players spawn and manipulate weapons, vehicles, and characters in open environments. It carries an 18+ rating and had a multiplayer mode that was removed in March 2026 after developers cited problems with exploiters, bot raids, and cybersecurity issues. The game’s developer, Felix Filip, expressed condolences to the victims and said he would cooperate with Philippine authorities, though he declined an invitation to appear before a Senate inquiry into the shooting.

Since the ban took effect, the CICC’s Threat Monitoring Center has been working with the Council for the Welfare of Children to keep closer watch on GoreBox and similar platforms. The Marcos administration has also said it is open to legislative measures that would regulate minors’ access to violent online content, signaling that the response to the Tacloban shooting may extend beyond this single game.

For now, GoreBox remains unavailable to new downloads in the Philippines, and existing installations no longer function past the loading screen, as authorities continue to look into what role, if any, online influences played in the tragedy. Meanwhile, life at the school itself is also moving forward. Face-to-face classes at San Jose National High School resumed on Monday after a two week suspension following the shooting. DepEd Tacloban schools division information officer Nilo Eder said the return to school was needed to help restore a sense of normalcy, though he noted the transition would be gradual since emotional healing among students and teachers is still ongoing.