Experts predict that the reintroduction of Free Fire India will lead to a 30% increase in Indian esports.
One of the most popular esports games, Free Fire India, is return, and analysts believe that this move would help the esports business in India expand by more than 30%.
According to Abhishek Issar, the founder of UNIV Sportatech, a strategy and consulting firm, the return of the title is anticipated to spur competition between publishers to develop world-class tournaments, offer significant prizes, involve influencers, broaden the viewership base, and impact the overall esports industry, ultimately leading to double-digit growth in the esports space.
Between 2021 and 2022, the esports industry’s revenue increased from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,100 crore.
The Free Fire audience will soon be able to watch additional intellectual properties (IPs), according to Stan, an esports fan engagement firm that has already worked with over 100 Free Fire producers.
The director and founder of the marketing firm Alpha Zegus, Rohit Agarwal, stressed that Free Fire’s return to India is now the greatest news in the sector. He stated, “Free Fire still has one of the largest audiences in India. Prior to the prohibition, statistics indicated that Free Fire had the most audience of any game in India.
With approximately 19 million downloads as of June 2023, Free Fire was the most downloaded smartphone game worldwide. Data from market research firm Sensor Tower shows that during this time, India accounted for 27.9% of all downloads.
As Rohit Agarwal said, “If we are able to recover about 70% of that audience base (the audience base prior to the ban in India), the game will break viewership records and go head-to-head with other well-known franchises very quickly.”
Devam Vyas, Vice President of the esports company Gods Reign, stated that the Hindi broadcast attracted the most views despite the fact that no Indian teams competed in the Free Fire World Series 2022 Grand Finals. As Free Fire resumes in India, we anticipate record-breaking viewership, according to Vyas.
The effects of Free Fire’s comeback extend beyond esports events. Additionally, the maker community is anticipated to gain a great deal from it. Free Fire India will aid creators in increasing and diversifying their fan bases, according to Animesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of 8Bit Creatives, an esports consultancy and talent firm, and co-founder of the esports team S8UL. There will be a surge in interest as well as investments from marketers into the ecosystem as the game receives fresh attention and engagement.
One of the most well-known YouTube content providers in the Free Fire India gaming scene, Nayan Shelke, aka Assasin, anticipates a large rise in subscribers and revenue for his channel. Shelke manages the Assasin Army YouTube channel, which has more than 9.5 million subscribers.
Shelke said, “Free Fire India’s launch was very important, as for us, this is our career.” As people flocked to his channel to find out what had happened to the game, he also noted that just after the Free Fire restriction, he saw increased interaction for his videos, with views increasing from one million to two million.
But subsequently, he saw a decline. “It took me two months to go from six million to seven million members. But it took me ten months to get eight million members. Due to the buzz around Free Fire India over the past two months, my channel’s subscriber count increased by 1-1.5 million, bringing it to 9.5 million. Additionally, I anticipate a 2x increase in my revenues from Free Fire India.
Bharat, aka Badge 99, a different content producer in the gaming industry, anticipates that more novice players will join the esports scene. He said, “The launch of Free Fire India will give more opportunities to players as well as content creators, with a higher number of tournaments and a newer audience base.” As soon as Free Fire India’s debut is announced, he expects that sponsors would approach them.
Due to the fact that Free Fire is best played on low-end Android smartphones, according to Manish Agarwal, founder of Kratos Studios, India presently has over 1 million esports players, and this figure is anticipated to rise with the game’s relaunch.
According to Ashwin Suresh, founder of the esports platform Loco, “Free Fire’s best feature is that it is optimized to work well on low-end devices, ensuring that it has a very broad user base.”
The re-entry of Free Fire holds promise for players throughout India, amplifying the competitive spirit and paving the way for recognition and opportunities on a global scale for Indian esports players, according to Lokesh Suji, Director of the Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF).
source- HT