Game studio Garena found itself in the middle of a geopolitical conflict when the Indian government banned on Its hit game, Free Fire, over national security concerns. Now, after more than a year, Free Fire is still The ban has been lifted, but the publisher, a division of Singapore gaming giant C, has found another way to market: TechCrunch has learned from sources and confirmed that Garena has been quietly developing new games with local themes in India. Is.
Last week, Hindu mythology-themed 1v1 fighting game Versus was released on Early Access Google Play, Neither the Play Store listing nor the game explicitly confirms Garena’s role in its development. However, TechCrunch found through regulatory filings that the studio behind the game – AstroTech Studios – is led by one of Garena’s directors, Harold Teo. Teo is also the global creator of the popular, banned battle royale game Free Fire.
The studio’s Indian team is based in Pune, and has been working on Versus for more than two years, people familiar with the company told TechCrunch. Some gaming enthusiasts and people in the country’s eSports sector were given access to the title ahead of its release on Early Access a few months ago, the people said.
Apart from Versus, TechCrunch has learned that the studio’s Pune team is working on a game based on cricket, the biggest game in India so far. The company is also coming out with a title based on the classic board game Ludo, which has found a popular incarnation as a smartphone game. The game is being developed by a Mumbai based team.
The discovery of the new studio and its title highlight three things. First, India’s sanctions may take a very long time to recover – if ever – which is a big problem for companies operating in a fast-moving, volatile consumer market. Second, the most ambitious consumer companies will look for ways to work around it. Third, creating localized services could be a way back into the market.
A person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that Garena does not allow its employees to manage its games and studios in India, and so it has Singapore executives leading the development. However, the company has deployed a significant team in India to develop and market its titles locally.
Before it was banned, Free Fire was a huge success in India, with market research firms estimating that it had around 40 million monthly active users in the country. Sagar had announced that this would happen The game was relaunched in India last SeptemberBut the title never really dropped.
Although the reason for the ban was never detailed, it was understood that it was reportedly related to national security concerns, as it involved the use of data centers in China. The company never took notice, but when it announced the relaunch, it said it would partner with Yotta Infrastructure, an Indian data center company, for its cloud and storage needs.
During Sea’s earnings call in March, group chief corporate officer Yanjun Wang said the company was still making changes Free Fire will have to consider “users’ preferences locally,” though they did not disclose a timeline. A person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that most of the required changes have now been integrated.
C and Garena did not respond to requests for comment.
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