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Cambodia genocide museum puts a stop to Pokemon Go

The former Khmer Rouge torture center and prison joins other solemn sites in banning the mobile game's players.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
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A sign reading "No Pokemon game here" is seen at the entrance of Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh.

 Lauren Crothers/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Cambodia's Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum joins a growing list of sacred and solemn sites banning Pokemon Go.

The mobile game, which has its players catching animated Pokemon characters in real-world locations and landmarks, launched in the country over the weekend and was banned at the museum on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Other memorials such as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum are now Pokemon-free, after the game's developer, Niantic Labs, honored the institutions' requests to remove all traces of the game at those places. Pokemon Go is also banned throughout the country of Iran for security concerns.

The genocide museum is a memorial site for the up to 2 million Cambodians killed by the Communist Khmer Rouge regime and was a former torture center and prison.

Niantic Labs did not respond to a request for comment.