Garena has confirmed that its game Free Fire has been temporarily banned in India.
Garena owns Newzoo, which makes esports data, analytics, and services. The company confirmed the news in an email to Kotaku this morning.
“Garena knows about the new debate encompassing ‘Free Fire’ in India”‘ peruses an assertion from the organization. “Free Fire is currently unavailable in India at the request of the distributor. Garena is evaluating all options for a localized version of the game in India. For the time being, ‘Fire’ players in India are currently able to play the game, however they will no longer be able to redeem experience or credits that were accumulated through in-game purchases”.
In a response to Kotaku, a spokesman for Amazon-owned Nexon, which owns the game’s publisher People Can Fly, added: “We’ve been contacted by the appropriate governmental bodies to clarify on the issue. However, at this time, it is being strictly advised that Fire players from India are temporarily unable to access Fire”.
Players in India are being given 30 days to get in and retrieve their items before the ban goes into effect.
Free Fire, an online multiplayer first-person shooter, is free to play but, as Kotaku’s India correspondent, Rahul Talukdar, pointed out, it is heavily advertised through Amazon-affiliated channels such as JioTV. Several reports from the country have documented that such promotions led to dozens of gaming machines running dry and making no money due to players buying in bulk and then trading on social media platforms.
Because of the ban, millions of Free Fire players now face potentially being charged before they can start their multiplayer games.
“We are extremely surprised by the ban. This action was neither issued nor even discussed with the us. We will be asking Garena if they have obtained consent to disclose the confidential business information of their competitors, we had not heard of this about the game in the first place. We are however very concerned about the possible ethical implications that this is bound to raise for consumers, especially when many of our products are available via the same platforms. Nexon India has been always vigilant about protecting our customers’ rights and stands by its strong stance on unfair business practices. Nexon India is immediately exploring all options to challenge the move and to ensure this doesn’t lead to any free-for-all for all other developers on the Amazon platform”,
Nexon posted an additional statement addressing the matter.
“Nexon is aware of the game being temporarily restricted in India. Nexon India would like to emphasize that the game is legal and has received certification from the relevant authorities. As for the issue of the purchasable items, we have been contacted by the relevant authorities to clarify on the issue. At this time, we have no further comment”.
Garena has told Kotaku that Free Fire will indeed be available again in India.
List of Chinese Apps (54 Apps) Banned in India
- Video Player Media All Format.
- Parallel Space Lite 32 Support.
- Volume Booster – Loud Speaker & Sound Booster.
- CamCard for SalesForce Ent.
- Equalizer & Bass Booster – Music Volume EQ.
- Music Player – MP3 Player.
- Equalizer Pro – Volume Booster & Bass Booster.
- Equalizer – Bass Booster & Volume EQ & Virtualizer.
- Dual Space Pro – 32Bit Support.
- Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD.
- Music Plus – MP3 Player.
- Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade.
- Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite.
- Music Player – Music.Mp3 Player.
- APUS Security HD (Pad Version).
- Nice video baidu.
- Viva Video Editor – Snack Video Maker with Music.
- Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera.
- Tencent Xriver.
- AppLock.
- Onmyoji Arena.
- Onmyoji Chess.
- UU Game Booster-network solution for high ping.
- CuteU Pro.
- DualSpace Lite – 32Bit Support.
- EVE Echoes.
- Dual Space – 64Bit Support.
- Music Player – Equalizer & MP3.
- Conquer Online – MMORPG Game.
- Voice Recorder & Voice Changer.
- MP3 Cutter – Ringtone Maker & Audio Cutter.
- Notes- Color Notepad, Notebook.
- Live Weather & Radar – Alerts.
- Conquer Online Il.
- Barcode Scanner – QR Code Scan.
- Badlanders.
- Dual Space Pro – Multiple Accounts & App Cloner.
- Twilight Pioneers.
- Dual Space Lite – Multiple Accounts & Clone App.
- Extraordinary Ones.
- Lica Cam – selfie camera app.
- Stick Fight: The Game Mobile.
- Astracraft.
- CuteU: Match With The World.
- FancvU – Video Chat & Meetup.
- Dual Space – 32Bit Support.
- Small World – Enjoy groupchat and video chat.
- Real: Go Live. Make Friends.
- Wink: Connect Now.
- FancyU pro – Instant Meetup through Video chat!.
- MoonChat: Enjoy Video Chats.
- FunChat Meet People Around You.
- Garena Free Fire – Illuminate.
- Real Lite – video to live.
