Garena Free Fire Leads the South African Mobile Gaming Revolution

Gone are the days when ‘Snake’ and ‘Tetris’ were the only games available on mobile devices. Thanks to advanced computing technology, consumers are vying for the latest mobile devices, which are basically mini consoles in the pocket. The ease of access and convenience of mobile gaming has meant fast adoption by the South African market. According to GameAnalytics, the number of worldwide mobile gamers grew from 1.2 billion to 1.75 billion in the first quarter of 2020.  On the local front, the number of users for mobile games is expected to reach over 16.8 million users by 2025. 

Developed with mobile gamers in mind

Gamers are becoming more tech-savvy, and developers are taking notice. Premier titles like Garena Free Fire were exclusively released on mobile devices, as this growing market becomes incredibly competitive and demanding.

Garena Free Fire, the self-developed mobile game title by Garena, a leading global online games developer and publisher, became the most downloaded mobile game in the world in 2019 and 2020, [1]according to App Annie. Among the reasons for Free Fire’s global popularity is that it was developed specifically with mobile gamers in mind, with its features, specifications and gameplay all optimised for gaming on the go. This has resulted in Free Fire growing in popularity around the world and locally as more South Africans turn to their smartphones for their gaming fix.

According to industry experts, there has also been a rise in multiplayer games globally. The strict lockdown and movement restrictions in recent times meant many individuals have resorted to online gaming to  socialise and connect. As a result, there has been a 60% increase in multiplayer games worldwide in 2020 alone. This has given rise to massive gaming events where thousands of gamers from around the world gather remotely to connect and play together, offering a more interactive gaming experience for all players. This trend is likely to continue to grow as it penetrates deeper into the South African gaming market.

High data costs a barrier for SA gamers

With high data costs being the primary barrier to entry in South Africa, more gaming titles are being developed to use as minimal data as possible. Low data mobile gaming is the push in the industry right now, with Garena Free Fire, in particular, hitting the low data mark better than the rest.

The growth of Garena Free Fire internationally has spurred growth within the South African gaming community. Its ease of access, short game modes that last no longer than 10 minutes from start to end, and its intuitive gameplay have helped Garena Free Fire become a hit in the community and lead the revolution in mobile gaming.

Want to see what all the hype is about? Download Garena Free Fire from:

• Apple iOS App Store
• Google Play Store

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[1]https://www.bgr.in/apps/top-10-most-downloaded-mobile-games-in-first-half-of-2021-pubg-mobile-not-in-the-list-970325/