FREE FIRE (video game)
The free-to-play battle royale game Free Fire, originally known as Garena Free Fire, was created and released by Garena for iOS and Android. The game, which was released on December 8, 2017, became quite successful and in 2019 was the most downloaded smartphone game worldwide. Its daily active user count exceeded 150 million, and its lifetime revenue exceeded $1 billion by 2021. Free Fire had 100 million active users as of February 2024.
Garena released Free Fire Max, an upgraded version with better sound effects, lighting, and visuals, in September 2021. With almost 5.4 million peak live viewers, the Free Fire World Series, the game’s official yearly esports championship, broke the previous record for most-watched esports event.
GAMEPLAY
Players take control of a character in the third person in Free Fire. They can throw objects and shoot by pressing the fire button. The character has the ability to hop, crawl, and lie down, among other movements. The “Gloo Wall” grenade can be used by players as cover to prevent harm while they are playing.
GAME MODES
Team Deathmatch, Clash Squad, Big Head, Explosive Jump, Cold Steel, Zombie Hunt, Rampage, and Pet Mania are just a few of the more than fifteen game modes available in Free Fire.However, only special events offer options other than Battle Royale, Clash Squad, and Lone Wolf.
Up to 52 players can arrive on an island without weapons in Free Fire’s Battle Royale mode. They have to scavenge weapons and equipment from buildings in order to fight to the death. Their rating will change if they play this mode in ranked mode. Bermuda, Bermuda Remastered, Kalahari, Purgatory, Alpine, and NeXTerra are the six available maps. Play can be done in squad, pair, or solo modes.
CLASH SQUAD
In the four-player vs four-player version of Clash Squad, players prepare by buying guns and other stuff from an in-game store before fighting the other team. The mode lasts four to seven rounds and is played in a best-of-seven format. When every participant on one squad is eliminated—either by their opponents or the surroundings—the round is won. The maps utilized in Battle Royale mode and Clash Squad are identical as of 2022. There are two ways to play the mode: Ranked and Casual.
LONG WOLF
With more complex rules, Lone Wolf is a variant of Clash Squad mode that can be played as a 1-player versus 1-player or 2-player versus 2-player “duo” format. Both teams can choose their equipment for the following two rounds in each round. The format of the game is best-of-five. Both teams are free to select whatever weapon they like in the final round, which starts after each team has won four rounds. From the beginning of the round, every participant is automatically outfitted with basic gear including a helmet and vest. Iron Dome is the name of the map on which this mode is played.
CRAFT LAND
With Craftland, users may use an in-game building tool to create their own maps in Free Fire. Other people can play and share the generated maps. Script editing is another feature that Craftland offers for more extensive customisation, allowing artists more freedom to realize their visions. Up until the maximum space limit is reached, players can add structures, gameplay components, and decorations to the map. Players can utilize one of two maps as the foundation for their ideas.
CHARACTER SYSTEM
There are more than fifty characters in the Free Fire character system. Every character possesses a special ability, which may be passive or active. While passive skills are activated automatically, active skills can be manually activated by an in-game button. Each character can equip four skills: their own skill and three other characters’ skills (a single character can equip one active skill and three passive skills). The backstories of Free Fire characters are distinct.ding Chrono from the partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitri & Thiva from the partnership with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, A-Patroa from the partnership with Anitta, Alok from the partnership with DJ Alok, and JBeibs from the partnership with Justin Bieber. All of the characters in the game may be obtained by spending either diamonds, which can be purchased with real money, or gold, an in-game currency that can be obtained through gameplay and event participation.
PET SYSTEM
A-Patroa from the collaboration with Anitta, Chrono from the collaPets can help players in Free Fire when they’re fighting. Players can choose one of the 21 dogs available in the game to bring into combat as of 2023. Every pet has a unique talent that makes them unique. While some of these skills are active and need to be manually activated, others are passive and activate automatically. Poring, one of the game’s pets, was included as part of a partnership with Ragnarok Online. Additionally, players can add skins and emotes to their pets.
RANKING SYSTEM
A-Patroa from the collaboration with Anitta, Chrono from the collaPlayers are categorized by skill and performance in Free Fire using a seven-tier ranking system that includes sub-tiers like Bronze I, II, and III. As they advance from Bronze to Grandmaster, players accumulate ranking points based on kills, damage, surviving time, and standing position. Seasons change ranks (from Silver III to Bronze I or II, for example). Two rated modes are available: Clash Squad and Battle Royale.
PREMISE
In order to market the game, Garena released animated shorts and other resources that explain the principle of Free Fire. The game, the comics, and the stories are set in the Free Fire Universe. Every character has a unique backstory and family history, and they are all related to one another. The characters in the universe reside in three cities: La Luna, Griza, and New Dawn. There are two factions of characters: the Mambas and the Horizon. The Mambas are a liberation group that opposes the Horizon, which is the dominant faction in the metropolis where the wealthy and powerful reside.”How to Start a Fire” was the first short film released by Free Fire in 2022, and it starred Hayato Yagami.
RECERPTION
“A benefit for mid- and low-specification phones” was how one reviewer put the visuals, but another said, “If you enjoy games with good graphics, we don’t recommend that you play Free Fire Battlegrounds.” However, you should absolutely play if you enjoy battle royale games and want to have a good time with your pals.
Free Fire “prioritizes performance, making it a great choice for any type of device,” said Tais Carvalho of Techtudo. There is enough content to keep players entertained and provide satisfying combat in this unique gameplay. “A flashy add-on” is how she described the character and skill advancement.
In the 2019 Google Play “Best Apps of the Year” list, Free Fire was the most popular vote game in Brazil and Thailand and took first place in the “Best Popular Vote Game” category.
In the 2019 Google Play “Best Apps of the Year” list, Free Fire was the most popular vote game in Brazil and Thailand and took first place in the “Best Popular Vote Game” category.
The Garena After Call of Duty: Mobile, Fortnite Battle Royale, and PUBG Mobile, Free Fire is one of the most played battle royale mobile games. It is especially well-liked in Southeast Asia, India, and Latin America.[39] Free Fire was the fourth most downloaded game globally in 2018 on both iOS and the Google Play Store combined, and it was the fourth most downloaded game on the Google Play Store in the fourth quarter of 2018.With roughly 182 million downloads in 2018, the game became the second most downloaded battle royale mobile game (beating out Fortnite Battle Royale and only PUBG Mobile). Through December 2018, it brought in about $19.3 million a month, making Garena a huge financial success. Garena Free Fire has over one billion downloads on the Google Play Store as of August 2021.
In the United States, Free Fire generated $100 million in revenue at the end of the first quarter of 2021, surpassing PUBG Mobile’s $68 million. Compared to the same period last year, Free Fire’s revenues increased by 4.5 times.
Free Fire had made over $1 billion worldwide by November 2019. As of 2021, it had earned at least $4.33 billion, making it the fourth highest-grossing video game of 2020 with $2.13 billion and the eighth highest-grossing mobile game of 2021 with $1.2 billion [52].
Free Fire was the winner of the Esports Awards’ Esports Mobile Game of the Year title in 2020 and 2021.
With a peak concurrent online audience of over 5.4 million, the Free Fire World Series 2021 was the most watched E-sport competition ever until the League of Legends event overtook it in 2024.
FREE FIRE WORLD SERIESE
n 2019, Free Fire launched the esports competition known as the Free Fire World Series (FFWS). A series of regional competitions known as the “Free Fire Continental Series” (FFCS) took the place of FFWS in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. Garena announced the $2 million prize fund for the Free Fire World Series (FFWS) in February 2021.
With over 5.4 million peak live viewers in 2021, the Free Fire World Series surpassed the 2022 League of Legends World Championship, which had 5.1 million peak viewers, to become the most-watched esports event in history.
Regional events
In 2021, the Free Fire World Series was replaced by the “EMEA Invitational” encompassing Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Twelve teams competed in this competition. with a USD 200,000 prize fund.
In 2021, the Free Fire World Series for Asia was replaced by the Free Fire Asia Championship. Thirty-one teams from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Taiwan, and MCP (Malaysia, Cambodia, and Pakistan) competed in this competition. The teams vie for a USD 400,000 prize fund.