Garena might soon host Free Fire MAX esports tournaments for Indian region; leak suggests

Months after the ban on Free Fire, its enhanced variant, Free Fire MAX, is still active in India. Recent leaks suggest that Garena might organize a tournament for it as data miners have found some banners and avatars related to FFIC.

Despite Garena's plans around organizing the tournaments, the esports scene of Free Fire and its MAX version has halted post the Indian government's decision to ban the original game.

Additionally, there have been recent rumors about shifting esports personnel in India to Nepal, hinting at Garena's enhanced focus on the Nepalese server.

---

Rumors of a Free Fire MAX India tournament pick up as users find FFIC-themed avatars and banners

Many creators report plenty of leaks around Free Fire and its MAX variant, which may later prove crucial from fans' point of view. One such creator, SawGamingOfc, shared some leaks showing banners and avatars related to Free Fire India Challenge, Free Fire Pro League, and more.

Garena usually releases in-game special edition accessories related to the esports tournaments in the specific server. Moreover, every fan is aware that publishers were planning to host Free Fire/Free Fire MAX tournaments for the Indian server before the ban happened.

Moreover, the last post on Free Fire Esports India's Instagram account was related to FFIC 2022 Spring. Thus, the leaks pertaining to unreleased banners and avatars in the game suggest that there is a good chance Garena will revitalize the esports scene in India by hosting the Free Fire MAX tournaments soon.

However, players should take any such leaks or information with a grain of salt as, in some cases, they don't materialize in real life.

---

Why did the Government of India ban Free Fire?

For the unversed, Free Fire was one of the 53 applications (primarily Chinese) which were banned by the Indian government's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in February 2022. They took the decision under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

The ban was related to privacy and security concerns with all blocked applications. Various reports alleged that all of the banned apps were collecting and sharing sensitive user data outside the country, which posed a threat to the nation's security.

Surprisingly, Free Fire MAX, the game that shared servers with Free Fire, remained unbanned and is still active in India. After the ban, the MAX version has become the primary title for Indian users and consistently receives all in-game updates.

Players must also note that Garena hasn't revealed any unban date for Free Fire. Therefore, they should refrain from believing such rumors and avoid downloading the game from unofficial sources.