Singapore-based game developer Garena has postponed the much-awaited launch of the exclusive Indian version of the popular battle royale game Free Fire by ‘a few weeks’ to fully complete its localisation.
Last week, Garena said Free Fire was set to make a comeback in India after being banned for a year-and-a-half, with the game available for download on September 5.
However, the company said it is postponing the launch of the game to offer the ‘best possible experience to all their Free Fire India Fans’.
“In addition to refining the gameplay, we are taking some time to fully complete our localisation of the Free Fire India experience,” the company said in a statement.
Garena first announced the launch of its exclusive ‘Free Fire India’ version on August 31, with former captain of the India cricket team MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador.
The company also said that Free Fire India will be an India-exclusive app, with features and content that are specific to the local market.
The Ministry of Home Affairs banned Free Fire in India in February last year, along with 53 other apps, due to security concerns. However, Garena continued its operations in India by providing a premium version of the game, Free Fire Max, which was not banned by the Centre.
The latest version of Free Fire in India will have a verification system to enable parental supervision and gameplay limitations, among others, to address the Centre’s concerns.
The company has also partnered Yotta, a Hiranandani Group company, for the relaunch. Yotta will provide local cloud hosting and storage infrastructure for the game.
Last week, it was also reported that South Korean gaming giant KRAFTON received full approval from the Centre to operate its battle royale game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) after a three-month long audit process.
With rising internet and smartphone penetration, India has emerged as a lucrative market for gaming companies over the last few years. The number of esports players in India surged four-fold to 6,00,000 in 2022 from 1,50,000 in 2021, according to a Lumikai report.
While BGMI has seen considerable success after its relaunch in India, Garena’s ‘Free Fire India’ version is also expected to cash-in on the country’s growing online gaming industry, which is expected to reach a market size of $8.6 Bn by FY27.
Besides BGMI, Free Fire India will compete against the Made-in-India battle royale title Indus, which is being developed by Pune-based game development startup SuperGaming.
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