Garena launches Free Fire India after original game's 2022 ban

TechCrunch reports Garena launched Free Fire India on October 28, 2026, more than four years after India banned the original game over national security concerns. Garena had postponed a planned September 2023 release. The company says user data is hosted on servers in India; its India operations head told TechCrunch that Free Fire MAX will remain available and players can use the same account and play together across both games.