- Free Fire had over 15 million downloads on Google Play Store and more than 2 million downloads on App Store in January 2022.
- It’s unclear when the game will relaunch in India.
- Free Fire is not available on Google Play Store and App Store.
The Indian government recently banned Free Fire in the country alongside 53 apps that largely belong to Chinese tech and gaming companies. The Ministry of Electronics and IT claims that the banned apps transfer sensitive data of Indian citizens to servers in China, which poses a threat to the security and privacy of Indians. It’s unclear how Garena is approaching the Free Fire ban in India, and whether it will be relaunched in the country. The game had millions of downloads across the globe in January 2022.
According to Sensor Tower, Free Fire had over 15 million downloads on Google Play Store and more than 2 million downloads on App Store in January 2022. The game has also earned over $42 million in revenue in January 2022 via both storefronts. Garena has said that it is “working to address this situation.” Garena has also said, “We apologize to our users for any inconvenience.” The publisher has not revealed the game will be coming back as rebranded version, similar to what happened with BGMI.
Garena can follow the footsteps of Krafton and reintroduce Free Fire in India. After PUBG Mobile got banned in 2020, Krafton launched Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) as an exclusive experience in the country. The game was released with warnings about a virtual world, green blood, and other changes to promote healthier gaming. Garena can start storing player data on local servers or servers outside of China. The publisher can also add ways to promote healthier gaming habits such as parental control, green blood, and more.
