The sea is still in flux, with changes still being made, and the popular mobile game Free Fire has yet to launch in India, despite announcements made more than six months ago. During the recent earnings call, Yanjun Wang, Group Chief Corporate Officer at Sea, mentioned that the Singapore-based company is still making adjustments to the game to cater to the preferences of Indian users. As of now, there are no significant developments to report.
Garena, the gaming unit of Sea, announced in August of last year that it would be relaunching Free Fire in India. The initial release date given was September 5th. Garena also announced a partnership with Yotta, a local company owned by Hiranandani, to handle cloud and data storage for Indian users. Additionally, Indian cricket legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named the brand ambassador for the game in the country.
Free Fire, once beloved by Indian players, has left its fanbase feeling frustrated due to Garena’s lack of transparency with the relaunch. Many gamers have switched over to Krafton’s BGMI instead.
Despite repeated requests for information, Sea has declined to comment.
India had previously banned Free Fire and numerous other Chinese apps in 2022. In response, Sea announced that it was shutting down operations for its e-commerce platform, Shopee, in the country. This decision was made just months after testing the service in India.
The testing of Shopee in India had received criticism from local retailers, leading to the Confederation of All India Traders reaching out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The lobby group raised concerns about the arrival of yet another foreign player engaging in “unfair trade practices” that could harm the local ecosystem.
