Garena’s Free Fire India Launch Delayed for Gameplay Refinement

Garena Free Fire’s return to India, initially set for September 5, has been postponed for a few weeks. Here’s what we have gathered so far.

In Brief:

• Garena Free Fire’s India return faces a delay.
• The anticipated launch date of September 5 is pushed back.
• Players will need to exercise patience for a few more weeks.

Just last week, Garena announced the anticipated return of its popular Battle Royale Game, Free Fire, to India. The company, through a press release, disclosed that the game would relaunch as Free Fire India on September 5, complete with exclusive features tailored for Indian players. However, recent reports indicate a delay in the launch by a few weeks as Garena strives to deliver the best possible gaming experience.

Garena Free Fire India Launch Delayed

As per a Moneycontrol report, Garena has postponed the game’s launch to ensure the ‘best possible experience for all Free Fire India fans’ right from the start.

The company stated, “Apart from refining gameplay, we are dedicating time to perfect the localization of the Free Fire India experience.”

Garena Free Fire Return Announcement

Last week, Garena unveiled plans to reintroduce the game with a commitment to offering a safe, healthy, and enjoyable gaming experience. The game’s local cloud hosting and storage will be managed by Yotta, a Hiranandani Group company. Noteworthy features will include a verification system for parental supervision, gameplay restrictions, and ‘take a break’ reminders.

Garena stated, “Yotta, as a MeitY-empanelled service provider, will ensure top-notch management of Indian users’ personal data on local servers, supporting Garena’s product offerings within India and for exports.”

The Singapore-based gaming powerhouse also revealed that MS Dhoni has become the game’s brand ambassador, featuring as a playable character named ‘Thala’.

Why was Garena Free Fire banned in India?

Garena Free Fire faced a ban in India in February of the previous year as part of a broader prohibition of numerous Chinese apps. Despite being developed by a Singapore-based company, it was classified as a “security threat” and included in the list of banned applications in the country.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology explained that this ban was crucial because these apps were perceived as posing a “security threat” and were suspected of having the potential to “access critical permissions” and “gather sensitive user data.”

BGMI, another well-known Battle Royale game, was also among the games initially banned. However, in May of the current year, it was unbanned, bringing joy to Indian players as it became available for download on both the App Store and Google Store.