When in Western countries you ask gamers for their favorite battle royale game, there are three answers you’ll get 99% of the time: Fortnite, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or Apex Legends. But in Latin America and Asia, a different king reigns. Those regions have been enthralled by a free to play, mobile-exclusive battle royale game: Garena Free Fire.
After its release in December 2017, Garena Free Fire, commonly referred to as just Free Fire, exploded in popularity and hasn’t slowed down since. According to mobile market data site App Anie, Free Fire was the most downloaded game worldwide on iOS and Android devices. In February this year, Free Fire crossed 500 million installations in the Google Play Store alone. But how did this game become so popular that it’s one of the global market leaders?
A game for everyone
When you look up Free Fire content on YouTube, surprisingly little is available in English. The most popular videos are all made by Brazilian, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian and other developing countries’ famous YouTubers. Not a coincidence, according to Eric Teixeira, founder of Brazilian esports site Maisa Esoprt: “In Brazil, many people don't have a computer, so people just grow up without a computer. But everybody has a cell phone right now. It's way cheaper than a PC. For people in the West, it's sometimes hard to understand why people are playing these mobile games. For example, the new Call of Duty is really big in the US, but in Brazil, it's not that big because people just can't play it.”
The economic difference also explains why Asian and Latin American countries have pivoted to Free Fire, despite Fortnite and PUBG both having a port for smartphones as well. Those latter two demand smartphones on the higher end of the performance spectrum which, in turn, means they’re more expensive. “In these poorer countries, many people don't have a lot of money to have a strong or new smartphone. Many people have a cheaper pho
Expanding esports' reach
Free Fire has played a pivotal role in the development of esports in Latin American and Asian countries. Whereas popular games used to be available to the rich part of the population as they could afford high-end equipment to run famous esports titles, Free Fire is able to quench the thirst of competition of millions. “Free Fire democratized esports,” Teixeira says. Brazil is a traditionally passionate country when it comes to competition, but it extends to the other countries Free Fire popular is in too. Thousands of players flock towards open cups that don’t even necessarily have a prize pool—it’s the thrill of competing with friends, chasing the dream of being scouted by a top tier team, that matters most.
That said, Free Fire’s esports scene isn’t just grassroots. The top end of the competition is growing too. The Free Fire World Cup, held in April last year in Bangkok, Peked at over a million concurrent viewers, with roughly 640,000 concurrent viewers on average. Quite impressive, especially considering the prize pool of ‘just’ $100,000 USD. But it’s nothing compared to the Free Fire World Series of November last year. The event, held in Rio de Janeiro with a $380,000 USD prize pool, had over 1.2 million concurrent Viwers on average, with its peak crossing the two million concurrent viewers mark.
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