Garena Free Fire banned in India alongside 53 other Chinese apps

Garena Free Fire, the most downloaded and highest-earning mobile battle royale game in India, has been banned throughout the country. The ban came as a shock for many Indians who suddenly discovered that the game could no longer be played or found in their local Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, or MeitY for short, banned a total of 54 China-linked mobile apps today. However, it’s worth noting that Free Fire is published by Garena, a Singaporean company, and not a Chinese one.

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For a full list of all 54 banned applications in India, you may refer to this tweet from ET Now.

Regarding the ban, the Indian government said that it has the “power to issue directions for interception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource,” according to IndiaToday. The news site also revealed that despite not being included in the list, Free Fire Max, the enhanced version of Free Fire was also banned from the Apple App Store in India. Free Fire Max is still available for download on the Indian Google Play Store at the time of writing, however.

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According to industry analyst Danial Ahmad, the ban is due to increased tensions between China and India. It’s possible that more beloved Chinese mobile games may be next.

What's interesting is that even with 5 batches of bans, primarily targeting Chinese apps, games such as Genshin Impact, Lords Mobile, Top War and others continue to operate without issue.

But perhaps they are next…

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 14, 2022

Free Fire‘s popularity in India skyrocketed after PUBG Mobile was banned in the country. It filled the void left behind in the country, with Garena going as far as featuring Indian celebrities as characters in the game.

Download

Garena Free Fire

Publisher: Garena International

Developer: 111 Dots

Release Date: 2017-09-30

Android, iOS

Free Fire is the ultimate survival shooter game available on mobile. Each 10-minute game places you on a remote island where you are pit against 49 other players, all seeking survival. Players freely choose their starting point with their parachute, and aim to stay in the safe zone for as long as possible. Drive vehicles to explore the vast map, hide in trenches, or become invisible by proning under grass. Ambush, snipe, survive, there is only one goal: to survive and answer the call of duty.