Garena Free Fire is making a triumphant return to the Indian gaming landscape – marking its re-entry on September 5 under the banner of ‘Free Fire India.’ This eagerly-awaited resurgence brings with it an exciting twist—none other than the legendary M.S. Dhoni will grace the gaming realm as a playable character.
In a nation where Battle Royale games hold a cherished spot in the hearts of gamers, the likes of Garena Free Fire, BGMI, and Call of Duty have caught on big time.
The comeback of Free Fire, which was among the applications barred by the Indian government in February 2022 due to security concerns, is set to inject fresh enthusiasm into the gaming sphere.
Just recently, the reinstatement of BGMI after a 10-month hiatus sent ripples of excitement among its fans. This rekindled hope not only for Free Fire aficionados but also gave rise to persistent speculations about the imminent return of the banned game.
Rebranded as ‘Free Fire India,’ the game is undergoing a transformation to infuse unique content and features that foster a safe, wholesome, and exhilarating gameplay experience. Yotta, a subsidiary of the Hiranandani Group, is stepping in to provide local cloud hosting and storage infrastructure for the game.
This strategic collaboration with Yotta, a recognised MeitY-empanelled service provider, ensures meticulous management of Indian users' personal data, bolstering data security.
The game's anticipated relaunch date of September 5 comes with an array of features designed to prioritise player well-being. These encompass a verification system to facilitate parental oversight, calibrated gameplay limitations, and periodic ‘take a break’ prompts.
An exciting addition to the Free Fire universe is the inclusion of cricket icon M.S. Dhoni as a playable character, dubbed 'Thala' within the game. Dhoni joins a league of illustrious sportspersons, including football captain Sunil Chhetri, badminton ace Saina Nehwal, tennis luminary Leander Paes, and kabbadi champion Rahul Chaudhari.
Dhoni is being heralded as the first Indian athlete to prominently grace the gaming arena as a playable character.
Garena Co-Founder Gang Ye expressed his enthusiasm for the Indian gaming community, highlighting the country's impassioned e-sports aficionados. "India is home to very passionate communities of e-sports enthusiasts and we are excited to be able to support our fans from Bharat with the launch of Free Fire India. We look forward to providing an engaging and highly localised experience for Indian users."
"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. We are also committed to supporting the development of India’s esports and startup ecosystems," he added.
"The Free Fire India Esports Championships is our first step in building out our platform of esports events and activities in the coming months to empower Indian esports athletes to succeed globally.”
The previous suspension of Garena Free Fire's availability in India was a consequence of a larger ban on numerous Chinese apps in February of the preceding year, propelled by concerns surrounding user privacy and security.
Despite the game being developed by a Singapore-based company, it was regrettably classified as a "security risk" and consequently featured in the list of proscribed applications.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology highlighted the imperative nature of the ban in mitigating perceived threats to national security, as these applications were purportedly capable of acquiring significant permissions and gathering sensitive user information.
