Garena’s battle royale title for Android and iOS, Free Fire, which was released in 2017, has grown exponentially in the past few years.
Last year was no exception. Today, Sea (the parent company of Garena) released its financial statements for the fourth quarter of 2020 and also highlighted its achievements for the year.
Free Fire was the most downloaded mobile game in 2020, according to analytics company App Annie. This is the second consecutive year that the mobile game has achieved this feat.
It was also the highest-grossing mobile game in Southeast Asia and Latin America last year. Free Fire managed to become the top-grossing mobile game in India as well during the final quarter of 2020. This happened after its competitor PUBG Mobile was banned in the country last September.
“One of the key factors in Free Fire’s sustained success is our commitment to keeping our game fresh and engaging,” said Sea’s CEO Forrest Li. “Gamers around the world increasingly recognize Garena’s reputation for constantly enhancing the Free Fire experience with innovative content, partnerships, and esports activities.”
Fueling the game’s growth around the world is its exclusive collaborations with popular figures. This includes professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, Indian-American musician DJ KSHMR, and Indian actor Hrithik Roshan. The game also collaborated with the Netflix series Money Heist for an in-game event last year.
Free Fire was the most viewed mobile-only game on YouTube in 2020 as well. The game generated over 72 billion views on the platform last year alone.
Free Fire’s esports scene, which has been breaking viewership records, also contributed to its immense success. The Free Fire Continental Series 2020 Asia peaked at 2,566,046 views. In fact, three of the top five esports tournaments of 2020 by peak viewership were Free Fire competitions, according to Esports Charts.
