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Garena Free Fire is one of the most popular mobile games in India. It was one of the most downloaded mobile games in 2019 and also received the ‘Best Popular Vote Game’ award by Google Play Store. Free Fire currently has over 500 million downloads on Google Play Store.
After the Indian government slapped a ban on 59 Chinese apps due to rising tensions between the countries, people are speculating about whether other apps will be banned due to privacy and security concerns. The Ministry of Home Affairs recently banned 47 more Chinese apps in the country as they were reportedly clones for the previously banned 59 apps. PUBG MOBILE, along with 274 other Chinese apps, is currently under the scanner of the government due to alleged violations of national security and user privacy.
Which Country Made Free Fire?
After the battle royale genre picked up steam in the past few years, first with the PC version of PUBG becoming popular, many developers have tried to make the next big thing in battle royales. Vietnamese game developer 111dots Studio was one such dev who decided to make Free Fire Battle Royale. In September 2017, the developers began testing the game, with a Beta version coming out in November 2018. The game was officially released on 4th December 2018. The game became quite popular and well-received, especially in Brazil and Thailand.
The game is published by 111dots Studio globally and Omens Studio in the Netherlands. In India, Brazil, Mexico and the rest of Southeast Asia, the game is published by Garena. Garena is a Singapore based digital service company which has also partnered with Riot Games to run a League of Legends server. Garena’s parent company is Sea Limited, which has its headquarters in Singapore.
Will Free Fire be banned in India?
Till date, India has banned a total of 106 Chinese apps. These banned apps have reportedly compromised the safety and security of user data and privacy. However, it is important to note that these apps are of Chinese origin, so it is highly unlikely that Free Fire will be banned in India. The survival game does not trace its roots back to China and the government is currently focusing only on banning Chinese apps.
If PUBG MOBILE is banned in the coming months, Garena Free Fire might become the next source for Indian gamers’ battle royale fix. The game is a twist on previous iterations of BR games with some distinctive features.
The game has unique character abilities and pets that accompany players through the game. Players are pitted against 49 others when you land on the island compared to PUBG MOBILE’s 99. This makes for shorter matches (approximately 10 minutes in length) than with its counterpart. However, PUBG MOBILE has started to take note and introduced more close-quarter maps like the new map Livik, which is currently in Beta.
(Also Read: 4 Games To Play If PUBG Mobile is Banned in India)
