What is GoreBox, the video game linked to one of the Tacloban school shooting suspects?

The Philippine National Police is now looking into the possibility that the violent behavior of one of the two minor suspects in the shooting incident in San Jose National High School in Barangay San Jose, Tacloban City, on Monday may have been influenced by the online game GoreBox.

The shooting incident left three students dead, 15 wounded, and five more with non-firearm-related injuries.

The two suspects, aged 14 and 15, both Grade 9 students and reportedly close friends, allegedly entered two classrooms and opened fire on their schoolmates before they were arrested.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB on Tuesday, Police Brig. Gen. Jayson Capoy, director of the Police Regional Office in Eastern Visayas, said the 14-year-old suspect had been playing GoreBox.

What is Gorebox?

According to the official Steam page, GoreBox is a physics-driven sandbox game developed by Felix Filip and published by F2 Games.

The game was released on Steam on July 21, 2023, and features a tool called the “Reality Crusher,” which allows players to spawn, manipulate, and destroy objects within the game world.

Known for its graphic depictions of violence, it offers players the opportunity to explore diverse environments and experiment with a variety of weapons, tools, and explosives in a highly interactive sandbox setting.

Temporary ban

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Tuesday has ordered the temporary ban of Gorebox following the shooting incident in Tacloban.

In an interview on "Balitanghali" on Tuesday, Capoy also noted that the school shooting was premeditated and that one of the suspects allegedly claimed he and his companion only wanted to scare other students.

"Base din po sa pag-interview ng mga investigators natin, talagang napagplanuhan as early as May 1 or April na mag-launch sila ng ganitong ano, kaya talagang premeditated 'yung incident," he said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) suspended classes in all schools in Tacloban on Tuesday following the shooting incident. Psychological first aid (PFA) will be conducted from June 24 to 26, per DepEd's directive. —CDC, GMA News