Cover-Credits:
According to a recent report by Free Fire Mania Brazil, Garena has decided to pull the plug on Free Fire MAX, an alternate version of Free Fire designed exclusively to deliver a premium gameplay experience. The announcement was made through an in-game mail in Portuguese, which requested users to download the original version of the game as the MAX version will stop receiving maintenance and updates after 21st March 2023. A spokesperson of Garena also reportedly confirmed the discontinuation in a conversation with Free Fire Mania Brazil but did not mention if the decision is applicable to other regions.
Free Fire MAX might not receive updates after 21st March
According to Free Fire Mania Brazil, Garena sent an in-game mail to Free Fire MAX users, requesting them to download the original version of Free Fire and notified them that the MAX version of the game would stop receiving maintenance and updates after 21st March 2023.
The mail is originally written in Portuguese, which roughly translates to:
To improve the experience for everyone who plays Free Fire, we will focus our resources on Free Fire Original. Therefore, effective from March 21, 2023, we will stop providing maintenance and updates for the MAX version. Be sure to ensure that the account is linked to a social network to access it in the original Free Fire.
Garena spokesperson reportedly confirms Free Fire Max shut down
The next update for Free Fire is scheduled for 22nd March 2023. Until then, players who have already installed Free Fire MAX can continue to use the game normally. However, after the update, the MAX version of Free Fire will no longer be available for user login.
This decision comes after a decline in revenue from Garena that slipped 32.9% to $948.8 million in the quarter, when it was $1.41 billion in the same period a year ago. The persistent download ban of Free Fire in India certainly hasn’t helped the company’s revenue numbers.
According to Free Fire Mania Brazil, a Garena spokesperson confirmed the discontinuation of Free Fire MAX in a conversation with the outlet. “As part of efforts to improve the experience of Brazilian Free Fire players, we request that everyone follow the next game updates in the original Free Fire application starting March 21, 2023. Brazilian Free Fire Max users can link their guest accounts using social media login or email until March 21, 2023. Download Free Fire now from the Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS) and link your account,” the spokesperson reportedly stated.
Notably, the spokesperson specifically spoke about Brazil and did not mention if it was also applicable to other regions. It is important to note that the Indian Free Fire MAX users have not received any such in-game mail yet. Furthermore, there has been no announcement about the shutdown of the game from any Indian Free Fire MAX officials so far. The game is currently still available on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
The potential global implementation of the ban could result in Indian players being completely disconnected from the Free Fire community, as they already are currently only left with Free Fire MAX after the Indian government's ban on Free Fire earlier last year.
