Behind Free Fire's eighth anniversary: How Garena builds for longevity

• Free Fire marked its eighth anniversary with a new map, nostalgia and IP collaborations with Squid Game and Naruto Shippuden.
• Garena's global strategy is built on extensive community feedback and regional testing to shape content features.
• Looking ahead, Free Fire is focused on accessibility, AI integrations and long-term live ops innovation.

Mobile shooter Free Fire is now eight years into its run. Marking its latest anniversary, the team included new content, nostalgic callbacks and a headline IP crossover with Squid Game themed events.

Garena chose not just to highlight its past, but also to lay new groundwork for what is to come next. 

At the centre of this year’s campaign was a player-focused design philosophy. Speaking with PocketGamer.biz, Cindy Chen, global marketing lead for Free Fire, reflects on the thinking behind this year's anniversary, the game’s evolving roadmap, and how Free Fire continues to try to stay ahead of the curve.

A celebration built on community

While many anniversary events are built solely around new content or giveaways, Free Fire wanted to ensure that this year's event also included a callback to the past. The game introduced a fondly remembered element with the moving train from spawn island that transports players into the game.

“You may have noticed trains popping up as a recurring theme,” Chen explains. “That’s our team's little throwback to the classic train from Free Fire’s early days, around four or five years ago.” 

The original train became an early identifying aspect of Free Fire, much like Fortnite's flying bus. However, spawn island was eventually redesigned, and the train was no more. This year, the team revived it with a modern twist to tie into the anniversary content. 

Taking things further than a nostalgic callback is the centrepiece of the eighth anniversary - the rollout of Solara, the game’s very first new map since 2022.

“One of the most requested updates from our players has consistently been a new map to explore," says Chen.

"So we were really excited to unveil Solara as the opening highlight of our eighth anniversary celebration. Solara actually took nearly two years of development, testing, and iteration before we officially debuted it in May.”

One of the biggest features of the new map is a full map slide system, which allows players to travel rapidly between points of interest. Chen points out that the inspiration came from a smaller experiment during the game’s winterlands update last December, which had such a positive response from the community that the team felt encouraged to build upon it as a core mechanic for the Solara map.

“The rail system stretches across the entire map, so players can glide very quickly between areas and execute surprise attacks with ease," she explains. "The new layer of mobility not only adds depth to gameplay but also encourages replayability as our players experiment with creative tactics.” 

Chen tells us that designing a new map is an exciting challenge for the team, and they listen closely to what players have to share during in-game surveys and community conversations.

“We also look at the overall experience across our maps," she states. "When we create a new map, we ask ourselves, what kind of experience is currently missing? From there, we shape the map to fill that gap and give players something fresh to explore.” 

Collaborations and Garena’s roadmap

Anniversaries are a prime opportunity to form new partnerships and this year Free Fire featured two collaborations.

Firstly, it expanded its Naruto Shippuden collab with a second chapter, following community feedback from the first chapter which was released back in January. This time around there were new Naruto character skins, collectibles and skills for players to experience.

“Many on our team are longtime fans of the Naruto series,” says Chen. “The entire process of bringing the world of Naruto into Free Fire has been both incredibly fun and meaningful.” 

The collaborations didn’t end there as Free Fire also had an all new crossover with Netflix’s Squid Game, which introduced themed mini-games reminiscent of some of the show's iconic moments.

Classic challenges such as red light, green light featured within Free Fire as well as including themed outfits and accessories.

In the US Free Fire held a live Ddakji master challenge inspired by the traditional Korean game. Players from Dallas and Miami competed to flip the most tiles with the top score across all cities earning a cash prize of $4,560.

Major IP collaborations are a familiar sight in the mobile games market, helping to bring in new players and drive monetisation through events tied to these popular franchises.

Other games within the shooter genre have had similar partnerships, such as PUBG Mobile teaming up with Transformers and Call of Duty Mobile’s crossover with Gundam. Collaborations such as these have defined much of mobile live ops strategy in recent years and look to be something the Free Fire team hopes to expand on in the future.

Chen shares that the take shares an internal rule that any proposed IP collaboration must have at least one genuine superfan on the team.

“This ensures we can craft an authentic experience that stays true to the original and does the IP justice,” she explains. 

Regarding how the team handles the game's roadmap, Chen tells us that it's shaped by their players and being attuned to their feedback, as well as maintaining a mindset of growth and innovation. 

A large component of this is Free Fire’s global research infrastructure. Local teams run hundreds of focus group discussions each year, involving everyone from players and guild leaders to key opinion leaders and community moderators. 

“Player preference varies not only across regions, but also over time,” Chen adds. “This constant feedback loop helps us to fine-tune everything from game features, events, visuals and collaborations, so that the content resonates locally while still feeling part of the broader Free Fire universe.” 

Accessibility as a competitive edge

While high-spec performance and fidelity on mobile are something many games strive for, Free Fire continues to prioritise accessibility, a strategic move that has become increasingly valuable for Free Fire's growth.

“We devote a lot of effort to ensuring the game remains highly accessible,” Chen notes. “That means optimising for a wide range of devices, maintaining smooth performance even on lower-end phones, and keeping download sizes manageable.”

It’s a goal that underpins much of Free Fire’s resilience in the market, where other mobile shooters have struggled with retention or faced shutdowns. Free Fire has maintained a strong presence in the charts across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and India. 

“It’s a careful balance, pushing boundaries of what’s new and fun, while never losing sight of what makes Free Fire widely playable and welcoming to millions of players around the world.” 

Looking ahead to 10 years of Free Fire

Over its eight years, Free Fire has faced its share of challenges. The game was banned in India, which was one of its most popular markets. However, Free Fire Max - the enhanced version of the game - is accessible in the country, and Garena has hosted esports events there, such as the Free Fire Max India Cup.

Last year the developer focused on the localisation of a separate Free Fire India game and a spokesperson tells us that “efforts remain focused on connecting with and engaging local communities".

Shooters in the mobile market are also experiencing their own highs and lows. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, which launched in March of 2024, failed to keep audiences engaged and was pulled from stores in May of 2025. Though Free Fire itself continues to perform well, it's down from its lofty highs during the pandemic.

Heavy competition continues in the genre with the likes of PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile still performing well and new shooters emerging such as Delta Force and the return of Fortnite.

With the eighth anniversary behind it, the Garena's vision now stretches years into the future. Work is already underway for the game’s 10th anniversary in 2027, a milestone that Chen describes as not just a celebration but a moment of gratitude to players. 

“Our main goal is still to serve our players and always maintain our accessibility,” she says.

Beyond that, Chen states there are three pillars will define the future of Free Fire: continuous content updates tailored to emerging player needs, a broader IP collaboration portfolio, and the integration of AI to enhance game development and the player experience.

For more on what's happening in the Asian games market, we have the all-new arrival of the Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai taking place on July 30th, just ahead of ChinaJoy.