Free Fire India Returns to the Sea Following Ban Lifted
After being banned for a year and a half, Sea Ltd. is reintroducing one of its popular mobile games in India, which is expected to greatly contribute to the internet company’s revival of growth.
Now called Free Fire India, the game will be available on September 5, Sea’s gaming division Garena said in a statement on Thursday. Partner Yotta, a unit of India’s Hiranandani Group, will provide the infrastructure to store Indian users’ data on local servers, Garena said.
The relaunch is set to give Singapore-based Sea a boost as it tries to turn around slowing sales growth amid intensifying competition. In February 2022, New Delhi banned Free Fire, then Sea’s most popular mobile game in the country, citing security concerns due to its Chinese links. Weeks later, Sea announced the closure of its main e-commerce business in India, blaming “market uncertainty” for the demise of one of its most promising overseas ventures.
India has banned hundreds of Chinese apps in recent years, but expanding that policy offshore last year surprised executives and investors. Sean was founded by Forrest Li, who was born in China but is now a citizen of Singapore. China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. is a shareholder of Sea.
