A year and a half after the well-liked mobile game was prohibited in the South Asian market due to national security concerns, Garena is relaunching Free Fire in India. The company, which is owned by South Asian goliath Sea, announced a partnership with Yotta, which is ruled by local goliath Hiranandani, for the country’s data storage requirements, including cloud storage. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a legend in Indian cricket, has been named the company’s brand ambassador in the nation.
Free Fire will be made accessible in India on September 5 after the business further localised it for the market there by adding “unique content” and establishing a setting that “encourage(s) a safe, healthy, and fun gameplay experience.”
Users of Free Fire India would be urged to take breaks after a predetermined amount of time, the business claimed.
Free Fire had about 40 million active monthly users in India before it was outlawed, enjoying tremendous popularity there. It was a formidable rival to Krafton’s PUBG and BGMI, which are also hugely well-liked in the nation. In the previous year, Sea’s market valuation decreased by $16 billion as a result of India’s ban on Free Fire.
Gang Ye, co-founder of Garena, expressed excitement about offering an immersive and customized gaming experience for Indian users. He highlighted their partnership with Yotta, emphasizing its role in delivering top-notch gameplay quality and ensuring the security of Indian user data.
Garena’s action comes after Krafton successfully negotiated BGMI’s re-entry in India on a trial basis. Additionally, Sea made a covert attempt to introduce Shopee, its e-commerce platform, to India last year, but the effort was abandoned a few weeks after the Free Fire ban.
Industry insiders claim that Garena still needs to adjust its strategy in the nation and should strive to emulate Krafton’s approach by investing in regional businesses.
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