More than six months after announcing plans to launch its popular mobile game Free Fire in India, Sea has yet to launch it as it is “still making changes.”
Xi's group chief executive Yanjun Wang said in an earnings call this week that the Singapore-headquartered giant is still making changes to the game to take into account “local user preferences.” He said there were “no significant developments” to share.
Garena, the gaming arm of Sea, announced plans to reboot Free Fire in India in August last year. At the time, Garena said Free Fire India would be available in the country on September 5th. Garena said it has partnered with Yotta, owned by local giant Hiranandani, to address cloud and other storage needs of data for local users in the country. It has also appointed Indian cricket icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador for the country.
Free Fire was once a beloved game in India, but Garena's lack of transparency regarding the reboot frustrated its rabid fanbase and led many gamers to abandon the title in favor of Krafton's BGMI. became.
I have been very patient with Garena and Free Fire since the last two and a half years. I don't know how much longer I have to wait.I don't know what to do
I don't think they are even interested in esports in India anymore.
— Yash Bhanushali (@OGYashB) March 6, 2024
Mr. Shi declined to comment.
India banned Free Fire and dozens of other Chinese apps in 2022. Days later, Sea announced that it would be shutting down Shopee's operations in India, months after testing its social commerce service there.
Shopee's tests in India had sparked criticism from local retailers in the country. The All India Trade Federation, an influential lobby group for India's large number of offline retailers, has contacted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to report further complaints about what it says are “unfair trade practices”. The arrival of foreign companies damages the local ecosystem.