Garena Free Fire comes back to India to take on BGMI, launch date announced

Garena Free Fire is back in India more than a year after the battle royale title was removed from the app marketplaces and blocked by the internet service providers (ISPs) owing to national security. As part of its strategic announcement, Singapore-headquartered Sea. which is behind the Garena brand, said it is partnering with a local giant called Yotta to offer cloud and storage for the data of local users in India. Garena has also appointed cricket icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the brand ambassador of the revamped version of its game in the country.

The relaunch of Free Fire comes weeks after Battlegrounds Mobile India, popularly known as BGMI, made a comeback to the Indian gaming scenario. Garena said it has localised the battle royale title to make it more suitable for the Indian audience. The game now features “unique content,” as well as an environment that will encourage a safe, healthy, and fun gameplay experience. The new version of Free Fire will encourage players to take breaks after certain intervals, which will help them focus on other aspects of their routine and tear away from the phone screen.

“We look forward to providing an engaging and highly localised experience for Indian users,” said Gang Ye, co-founder of Garena. “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.”

Free Fire’s rise and fall

Garena Free Fire rose to fame almost overnight when the government issued a ban on PUBG Mobile. Before Krafton remodelled PUBG Mobile and launched it as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Garena Free Fire became the top battle royale in the country. Free Fire amassed over 40 million monthly active users before the government took cognisance of where the company was storing the user data and banned it. According to a TechCrunch report, the ban on Free Fire in India caused Sea’s market cap to diminish by a whopping $16 billion. However, Garena’s other battle royale Free Fire MAX continued to be available and is still playable in India.

Although Garena has managed to bring Free Fire back, it is unclear whether or not it is also on a trial basis like Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). Garena, however, is likely to secure long-term approvals from the government for a healthy run of the game. Free Fire is relaunching in India on September 5.