Free Fire is still available on Samsung Galaxy Store in India despite countrywide ban

Highlights
  • The Indian government has banned Free Fire in the country alongside several apps and games that belong to Chinese tech and gaming firms
  • Although Free Fire isn’t available on Google Play Store and App Store, it is still available to download on the Samsung Galaxy Store in India.
  • It’s unclear how long Free Fire will be available on Samsung Galaxy Store.

The Indian government has banned Free Fire in the country alongside 53 other mobile apps and games that largely belong to Chinese tech and gaming firms. As a result, Free Fire is not available on Google Play Store and App Store. However, it seems like the game is still available to download in India via Samsung Galaxy Store. It’s unclear whether this is an oversight or whether Samsung plans to keep the game available on its storefront. It seems likely that the game won’t be available for long on Samsung Galaxy Store.

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Free Fire

Players can download Free Fire on their Samsung device using the Samsung Galaxy Store. However, it’s currently unknown how long it will be available and whether it will get updates like the game used to before the ban.

If you already have Free Fire on your Android device or iPhone, you can still play the game without using a VPN. But, Garena will most likely shut down the servers in the coming days. The publisher hasn’t shared any details about the game’s relaunch yet, but it is expected to return just like BGMI.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT has banned Free Fire and other Chinese apps as it claims these apps pose a threat to national security and the privacy of Indian citizens. The government also claims that these apps transfer sensitive data of Indian users to servers in foreign countries like China. It seems Garena can relaunch the game in India if it transfers Free Fire player data to servers outside of China. Along with these, Garena can also promote healthy gaming habits for underage players, similar to what Krafton did with BGMI.

The Indian government had banned PUBG Mobile in the country back in 2020. The government had issued a similar order to various Chinese apps. Krafton reintroduced PUBG Mobile as BGMI in India. The game was introduced with certain changes such as green blood, warnings regarding being in a virtual world, and replacing the word ‘kill’ with ‘finish.’ However, the core gameplay experience is the same as PUBG Mobile. The game has become massively popular since its launch and restarted its esports scene. It remains to be seen whether Free Fire makes a similar comeback in India.