Free Fire streamers react to the game’s heartbreaking ban in India

The unexpected ban on Free Fire in India came as a shock to mobile gamers. The game was taken down from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store on 12 February 2022, which was followed by a ban announcement on 14 February 2022. A list of 54 mobile applications, along with the battle royale title, was banned in the country.

Aside from the plight of mobile gamers, content creators and professional players have also received a major blow. All major and minor tournaments have been halted before further information comes to light.

Sportskeeda Esports spoke to three famous YouTubers, Hipster Gaming, Focus Myme, and Pro kallan, who shared their thoughts about the ban’s repercussions.

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Famous Free Fire YouTubers’ take on ban

Mobile gamers are shocked and disappointed at the decision taken by the government. Since the battle royale game does not have Chinese roots, the reason for its ban is even more confusing.

A famous Free Fire content creator, Lokesh "Lokesh Gamer" Raj, recently uploaded a video stating that the game has not been banned and has only been blocked temporarily. He also claimed that fake news is being circulated with regards to the battle royale game's ban.

With respect to Free Fire's mysterious ban, here are a few famous content creators' thoughts and opinions on the matter:

Hipster Gaming

Hipster Gaming, a popular YouTuber based in South India, creates content around the battle royale game. He stated the following with respect to the game’s ban:

"Free Fire was the daily bread to not only YouTubers, but also a great number of teens as well as amateurs. The title was a gem among all the other games meant for low-end devices. Content creators like us will be facing a great threat if the game is banned for a long time."

Regarding India's esports scenario, he stated:

"India does not really support esports companies along with esports players or managers. Most of the countries even have a course for esports management, but India is still lagging in this area. If it was not banned, the future development in the esports industry of India would have surged."

Although the enhanced version of the game is still available, he expressed concerns regarding its device requirements, saying:

"Even though Free Fire Max is available, a great concern is how the players with low-end devices will carry forward."

However, he ended on a hopeful note, saying:

"We know that our life-changing game will come back soon with flying colors."

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Focus Myme

Focus Myme, Blind Esports' Free Fire Talent Manager, explained how the battle royale title’s removal will negatively affect esports organizations. He said:

"It will surely affect us. Free Fire has been the best esports game for the past two years and most of the people in India have spent a lot of money on it. The audience support for this game is awesome."

He also expressed his hope about the game’s return, saying:

Based on the current situation, officials have not yet announced the ban and Free Fire Max is still available on the Google Play Store. So, it gives us hope to strongly believe that it will come back.

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Pro kallan

Aseem, popularly known as Pro kallan, is a content creator at Blind Esports and a YouTuber with over 500K subscribers. Explaining how he always suspected that the game would eventually be banned, he said:

"We felt that the game may be banned someday but never expected this to happen this soon."

He also talked about the other games he will focus on until his favorite game returns, saying:

"Since Free Fire Max is still available, we will continue on that platform until our favorite game returns. We will also be focusing on other PC games like Valorant or GTA."

The only good news is that players can still enjoy the game as the servers have not been taken down. If they are unable to access it, they can always choose the enhanced version and link their old accounts using the Firelink technology.