Free Fire India launches with daily playtime limits and Diwali campaign
The standalone app for the Indian market includes a Diwali campaign, parental controls, and data stored on local servers.
Garena’s Free Fire India launched on October 28, 2026, as a free standalone app on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
The release marks the return of a dedicated India edition after the original Free Fire was banned in the country in February 2022.
The game includes a Diwali-themed campaign that will run until November 15, offering festive costumes and content.
Garena has built the return around new responsible-gaming measures under an initiative called Play It Right.
Players aged 18 and over are limited to six hours of play per day, while those under 18 are limited to three hours.
Players under 18 also require consent from a parent or guardian before creating an account and must provide a parent's mobile number for OTP verification.
Spending caps also apply to younger players.
“These are daily caps, not suggested session lengths,” Garena’s policy states.
The game sends regular break reminders separate from the daily time limit.
For enhanced data protection, Garena confirmed that user data is hosted on servers located in India.
The company said it considered feedback from relevant Indian government stakeholders while preparing the game for its return.
Free Fire India is a separate, localized app that Garena says is optimized for a broad range of smartphones.
The core battle royale experience remains, with matches of roughly ten minutes against 49 other players.
It also includes the 4v4 Clash Squad mode and the map-building Craftland mode.
Garena stated that Free Fire MAX, the enhanced edition which was never banned, will remain available alongside the new India app.
Players can use the same account across both games, play together and take part in the same events.
However, Free Fire India accepts only India-region accounts.
On iOS, signing in to Free Fire India with an Apple ID already used for MAX creates a new account, and the existing MAX account is not linked or transferred automatically.
The original Free Fire was banned in February 2022 as one of 54 apps removed over alleged links to China.
At the time, the game had around 40 million monthly active users in India.
Garena first revealed plans for a dedicated Indian edition in August 2023, naming former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador and setting a release for September 5 that year.
The launch was postponed on the eve of release and remained in limbo until the October 2026 greenlight. Redington Cybersport reported in October that a banner for the game had appeared in-game as Garena updated its store listing.
Garena says it will work with partners across India to build competitive pathways, from grassroots and collegiate tournaments up to international events, though no specific tournaments or dates have been named.
Indian teams have continued to compete on Free Fire MAX, with S8UL Esports, Apex Gaming and Total Gaming appearing at the Esports World Cup 2026.
Apex Gaming, TSG Pros and Resurrection are reportedly set to represent India at the Free Fire World Series 2026 Global Finals.
