Garena has announced Free Fire India as a new game for players in the South Asian country. This comes after the game was banned in February 2022 for alleged data privacy concerns by the Indian government. Free Fire India will be launched on Sept. 5 with a big brand ambassador joining along with esports tournaments lined up.

Today’s announcement comes after Garena signed an MOU with the government of India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. In its announcement, the company had also said that it will be utilizing the data center infrastructure of Yotta, a local company, potentially reassuring the government of its earlier concerns regarding data privacy.

Image Credits: Garena

When will Free Fire India release?

Free Fire India is set to release on Sept. 5. The game will be a separate title localized for Indian announces, similar to how BGMI is for PUBG Mobile. Currently, pre-registrations are live on the Google Play Store.

Being a separate game, it remains to be seen how the servers are handled and if there is cross-regional matchmaking. Garena has also said that it will be imposing parental warnings, a virtual message at the start of matches, and more just like Krafton has done for BGMI.

One of the biggest pieces of information to come out of the announcement, though, is that Indian cricketing star and the former captain of the Indian National Cricket Team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be the brand ambassador for the game.

Furthermore, Garena has confirmed that MS Dhoni will be coming into the game as a playable character, making him the first Indian sportsperson to feature in Free Fire.

Esports is set to make a comeback as well

Image Credits: Garena

Before the ban on Free Fire, the game had an elaborate esports scene which was all put to a stop after the game’s ban. Now, however, Garena has already confirmed two upcoming esports tournaments for the game.

One is the Free Fire India Championship (FFIC) 2023. The other is the Free Fire India Invitational which will take place in Uttar Pradesh as an on-ground event.

More details about the esports events are yet to be announced.

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