Garena announces return of Free Fire in India and its first tournament
The last three years have been a roller coaster ride for Indian fans of battle royale shooters on mobile phones. Despite being one of the largest markets for these games and helping them reach new heights with each new update and tournament, casual and pro gamers in the country have had to deal with countless problems arising from bans imposed on them by the government.
It all started in September 2020 with the ban on PUBG Mobile, with more games like Rules of Survival, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Clash of Kings following suit as any game with connections to China was given this treatment due to geopolitical tensions. One game that remained out of the eye of the storm was Free Fire, but it, too, met the same fate in February 2022.
Government blocks 118 mobile apps which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, Defence of India, Security of State and Public Order: Govt of India
— ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2020
PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik, PUBG MOBILE LITE, WeChat Work & WeChat reading are among the banned mobile apps. pic.twitter.com/VWrg3WUnO8
As one of the two biggest titles in its genre alongside PUBG Mobile, Garena's offering captured the country's attention and built a successful, robust esports ecosystem. Moreover, despite PUBG Mobile returning as Battlegrounds Mobile India, meeting the criteria set by the Indian government, it was also barred in August 2022, leaving fans with very little hope about return prospects for Free Fire.
However, on August 31, Garena released a statement that was music to the ears of fans of its most successful game in the country. It revealed that the title would return as Free Fire India on September 5, partnering with Yotta (owned by India's Hiranandani Group) to ensure the data security of its local users.
It added that ‘Free Fire India will offer features and content specifically developed for Indian users, as well as a range of features designed to promote safe, healthy, and fun gameplay. These include a verification system to enable parental supervision, gameplay limitations, and 'take a break' reminders.’
Garena topped off this good news with the icing on the cake which was news of the Free Fire India Championship (FFIC) 2023. This competition will be conducted across September and October, with the winners advancing to the Free Fire World Series 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. It will be the first event in this discipline in the country after a year and a half, and more details about the registration process and schedule will be disclosed soon.
Mr. Gang Ye, Co-founder of Garena, had this to say about the game's return:
"India is home to very passionate communities of esports enthusiasts and we are excited to be able to support our fans from Bharat with the launch of Free Fire India. We look forward to providing an engaging and highly localized experience for Indian users. We believe our partnership with Yotta will ensure that our users can enjoy the highest quality gameplay experience and benefit from Yotta's expertise in protecting and securing Indian user data. We are also committed to supporting the development of India's esports and startup ecosystems. The Free Fire India Esports Championships is our first step in building out our platform of esports events and activities in the coming months to empower Indian esports athletes to succeed globally."
A bit about India’s Free Fire esports scene
While Free Fire's biggest market, at least in terms of available viewership stats, remains Brazil and LATAM, India and Asia do not lag that far behind. These tournaments frequently produce numbers in the millions, with the most successful Indian one being the Free Fire India Championship 2021 Fall, which hit 3.3M Hours Watched and 1.07M Peak Viewers.
Moreover, the game has helped make household names out of many content creators and gamers, including pro athletes, who enjoy the support of millions of fans thanks to their content. This has even led to many streamer-only events and those that pit these online personalities against their competitive peers.
Looking at the all-time list, the top eight table is split between Asia and Latin America, with the top two most popular tournaments coming from the former: Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore and Free Fire Continental Series 2020 Asia. The return of India to the esports scene can only be a positive for a discipline that has seen some of its events flag a bit recently, acting as a necessary jolt for fans across the globe to show their full support for a game they all love.
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