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Garena Free Fire was among 54 applications banned by the Indian government a few days back. The popular battle royale shooter has been nothing short of a sensation among fans for a long time. Therefore, the ban was heartbreaking for many users.
Despite the Free Fire ban being a much-talked-about topic these days, some popular BR games have met a similar fate in the past. There have been multiple instances in which the Government of India's Ministry of Electronics and IT has blocked multiple apps in bulk.
Readers can take a look at all the popular battle royale games banned in India before Free Fire below.
Free Fire-like games banned in India
1) PUBG Mobile
PUBG Mobile, once the most popular BR shooter in India (besides Free Fire), was banned in the country back in 2020. The ban that targeted the Chinese applications was officially announced to preserve the security and sovereignty of the country and its citizens.
Interestingly, PUBG Mobile made a comeback in the Indian market in 2021 under the name of BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India). Although BGMI was not able to create a similar effect as PUBG Mobile in the presence of an ever-stronger Free Fire, the numbers have been impressive.
2) PUBG Mobile Lite
The Lite variant of PUBG Mobile was handed a ban in India for the same reason alongside the original game. Since PUBG Mobile Lite's blockage in India, there has been a continuous demand for its Indianized variant like the main game.
However, unlike BGMI, there has been no official word from Krafton's side regarding the Lite variant's release.
3) Rules of Survival
Rules of Survival, a 2017 free-to-play BR shooter, was also blocked in India during the bulk ban by the government in 2020. Before its ban in the country, NetEase Games' BR game was involved in a controversial legal battle with PUBG Mobile regarding copyright issues.
4) Ride Out Heroes
Alongside Rules of Survival, Ride Out Heroes was another NetEase Games title that received a ban in India. It is a BR game that boasted RPG features like "Heroes" belonging to different classes with specific skills.
5) Knives Out
Knives Out is the name of another NetEase Games' BR shooter that the government of India banned in 2020. The game had similar gameplay to most battle royale games featured on this list.
6) Cyber Hunter
Launched in 2019 by NetEase Games, Cyber Hunter is a futuristic survival shooter with plenty of modern weaponry. The game has many other in-game features that enhance its sci-fi theme. Like most of the games available on this list, Cyber Hunter was banned in India in 2020.
7) Badlanders
Badlanders is yet another survival shooter looter from NetEase Games included in the 54 blocked apps in India. Much like Rules of Survival, Badlanders also seemed inspired by other popular BR shooters.
Note: The reason behind the games' ban is related to their "alleged involvement in collecting sensitive user data."
Check out the latest Free Fire MAX redeem codes here.
