Garena Free Fire is a Battle Royale for iOS and Android. The game has been localized in German, yet you hear almost nothing about it here. However, it is extremely successful and was the most downloaded mobile game in the world in 2019.
What is Free Fire? Garena Free Fire, also known as Free Fire Battlegrounds, is a Battle Royale from a company based in Singapore. The game was released on December 4, 2017, and has since gained immense popularity.
The gameplay is similar to well-known games like Fortnite or PUBG:
- You fight in an arena against 49 other players
- The goal is to be the last survivor
- You jump out of a plane and land at a location on the map
- There you search for weapons and other useful items to eliminate your opponents and survive longer.
A round lasts a maximum of 10 minutes, as the arena keeps shrinking. A highlight is also the vehicles, which allow you to explore the map quickly.
How successful is the game? Garena Free Fire has more than 450 million registered players worldwide and has generated over 1 billion dollars in revenue since its release (via Pocketgamer).
In 2019, the game was downloaded 266.9 million times through the Google Play Store and the App Store, making it the most downloaded game of the year. The numbers even surpassed well-known apps like Netflix, Spotify, or Tinder (via Apptopia).
But what makes the game so successful? And where is it so popular?
Free Fire requires low performance, is particularly popular in Brazil and India
What makes Free Fire successful? The free Battle Royale has very low requirements for your smartphone and is therefore ideal for playing on weaker devices. Compared to PUBG, the user interface and gameplay are said to be somewhat simplified, reports the Brazilian website techtudo.
However, it does not look as graphically stunning as competitors in the genre. Additionally, the map is said to be a bit too big for the number of 50 players. There is also criticism that some cosmetic weapon skins can provide an advantage, even if it is only slight.
Yet that seems to have no impact on its success.
In which countries is the game popular? Free Fire is particularly well-received in Brazil, India, and Indonesia. There, PUBG Mobile is also enjoyed, but nowadays Free Fire can regularly dethrone this title from the top spot in the charts.
For India, the Battle Royale even created a own YouTube account along with its own tournament series, the India Championship. The tournaments broadcast there in Hindi reach around 1 million views. In comparison: The shoutcasts of the World Series 2019 on the European channel only reached 175,000 views.
The other two mentioned regions are also actively promoted by the game. The World Series 2019 took place in Rio de Janeiro, and the final will be held in Indonesia in 2020.
Interestingly, the Battle Royale is also offered in China, but it is not as successful there. Perhaps they couldn’t trick as well as Tencent.
Localization is weak, gameplay impresses with Free Fire
What do German players say? In the reviews on the Google Play Store, there are also some German reviews. They criticize the localization and the lack of German players, but praise the fundamental gameplay:
- Luca Bucher (5 stars): “I think the game is really cool, but almost never can I play with people who speak German. Can you perhaps make sure that all Germans play together, please?”
- Casey Arney (5 stars): “Best shooter, really awesome game […]. My only suggestion for improvement would be the connection to the server, because when the ping is high, nothing works anymore.
- Lady Red (4 stars): “Everything is nice and good, but the German translation is a complete disaster. Otherwise, I would want a small introduction or valuable tips […]. Still, 4 stars because it is nice for a smartphone shooter, especially because of the variety of weapons. I would still wish for more maps.”
In total, Free Fire has an average rating of 4.4 stars on the Play Store with over 43 million ratings.
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