新德里以国家安全担忧为由封禁《Free Fire》四年多后，Garena 将这款热门大逃杀游戏以本地化版本重新带回印度。
More than four years after New Delhi banned Free Fire over national security concerns, Garena has brought the popular battle royale game back to India with a localized version.
周三，Garena 推出了名为《Free Fire India》的本地化版本，作为一款独立游戏在 Android 和 iOS 平台上线。这家隶属于东南亚巨头 Sea 的公司表示，新版本包含针对印度的专属内容、家长控制、游戏时长限制和消费上限，用户数据托管在印度的服务器上。此次上线距离 Garena 在 2023 年 9 月宣布该游戏后悄然推迟其早先的发布计划，已过去三年多。
On Wednesday, Garena launched the localized version, called Free Fire India, as a standalone game available on Android and iOS. The new version features India-specific content, parental controls, playtime limits, and spending caps, with user data hosted on servers in India, the firm owned by Southeast Asian giant Sea said. The launch comes more than three years after Garena quietly postponed Free Fire India’s earlier release after announcing it in September 2023.
在 2022 年 2 月因涉嫌与中国有关联而与其他 53 款应用一同被封禁之前，《Free Fire》是印度最受欢迎的手机游戏之一。在印度于 2020 年 9 月封禁其竞争对手《PUBG Mobile》后，这款游戏变得更加流行。然而，《Free Fire》的封禁导致 Garena 的母公司、总部位于新加坡的 Sea 股价暴跌，单日市值蒸发超过 160 亿美元。尽管如此，Garena 仍在印度保持活跃。该游戏的增强版本《Free Fire MAX》不在被封禁的应用之列，玩家仍可继续游玩。
Free Fire was one of India’s most popular mobile games before it was banned in February 2022 alongside 53 other apps over alleged links to China. The game had become more popular after India banned its rival PUBG Mobile in September 2020. Free Fire’s ban, however, sent shares of Singapore-based Sea, Garena’s parent company, tumbling, wiping more than $16 billion off its market value in a single day. Still, Garena remained active in India. Free Fire MAX, an enhanced version of the game, was not among the banned apps and remained available to players.
《PUBG Mobile》的韩国发行商 Krafton 后来推出了《Battlegrounds Mobile India》（BGMI），这是与《PUBG Mobile》类似但专为印度玩家打造的版本。但 BGMI 一直难以企及 Garena《Free Fire》系列的人气。根据 TechCrunch 查阅的 Sensor Tower 数据，今年 6 月，该系列在印度的月活跃用户约为 7740 万，而 BGMI 为 2080 万。
PUBG Mobile’s South Korean publisher Krafton later introduced Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), a version similar to PUBG Mobile but made specifically for Indian players. But BGMI has struggled to match the popularity of Garena’s Free Fire franchise. In June, the franchise had about 77.4 million monthly active users in India, compared with 20.8 million for BGMI, according to Sensor Tower data reviewed by TechCrunch.
Garena 印度运营负责人 Vaibhav Das Mundhra 对 TechCrunch 表示，《Free Fire MAX》将与《Free Fire India》一同继续运营。他说，玩家将能够在两款游戏之间使用同一账号、一起游玩并参与相同的活动。
Vaibhav Das Mundhra, Garena’s head of operations in India, told TechCrunch that Free Fire MAX would remain available alongside Free Fire India. Players will be able to use the same account across both games, play together and take part in the same events, he said.
蒙德拉表示，Garena在筹备Free Fire India发布时，与相关印度政府部门合作，并采纳了他们的反馈意见。然而，他没有回答关于该游戏原定2023年发布为何推迟，以及有何变化使其如今得以发布的问题。
Garena, Mundhra said, had worked with relevant Indian government authorities and incorporated their feedback while preparing Free Fire India for launch. However, he did not answer questions about why the game’s planned 2023 launch was delayed or what had changed to allow its release now.
在Free Fire India的发布仍处于搁置期间，TechCrunch此前报道称，Garena继续为印度市场开发游戏。该公司通过位于浦那和孟买的工作室，开发了以印度教神话、板球和传统棋盘游戏卢多为灵感的游戏作品，并在原版Free Fire仍被禁期间推出了其中一些。其中一款名为Versus的游戏此前曾在Google Play上提供抢先体验，但现在已不在该商店中列出。
While Free Fire India’s launch remained on hold, TechCrunch earlier reported that Garena continued developing games for the Indian market. Through its studios in Pune and Mumbai, the company worked on titles inspired by Hindu mythology, cricket, and the traditional board game Ludo, releasing some of them while the original Free Fire remained banned. One of those titles, Versus, was previously available in early access on Google Play but is no longer listed on the store.
尽管遭遇监管挫折，印度仍然是移动游戏公司的重要市场。据Sensor Tower的数据，印度移动游戏下载量在第二季度环比增长14.2%，达到20亿次；收入增长3.7%，超过1.06亿美元。
Despite regulatory setbacks, India remains a significant market for mobile gaming companies. Mobile game downloads in the country grew 14.2% quarter-over-quarter to 2 billion in Q2, while revenue rose 3.7% to more than $106 million, per Sensor Tower.
Garena的《Free Fire MAX》也一直在印度电竞领域保持存在感，包括S8UL Esports、Apex Gaming和Total Gaming在内的印度战队参加了2026年电竞世界杯。
Garena’s Free Fire MAX has also maintained a presence in India’s esports scene, with Indian teams including S8UL Esports, Apex Gaming, and Total Gaming competing at the Esports World Cup 2026.
S8UL Esports联合创始人兼首席执行官阿尼梅什·阿加瓦尔表示，Free Fire India的回归可能为玩家和创作者带来更多机会。他说：“对我来说，真正的影响超越了游戏本身。它关乎那些梦想在电竞领域开创职业生涯的玩家、围绕这款游戏建立社群的创作者，以及这个生态系统能为每个参与者创造的机会。”
Animesh Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of S8UL Esports, said Free Fire India’s return could open up more opportunities for players and creators. “For me, the real impact goes beyond the game itself. It’s about the players who dream of building a career in esports, the creators who have built communities around the title, and the opportunities this ecosystem can create for everyone involved,” he said.