| |
Company type | Public |
NYSE: SE | |
ISIN | US81141R1005 |
Industry | Video Games |
Founded | 2009 |
Founder | Forrest Li |
Headquarters | Singapore [1] |
Key people | Forrest Li (Founder) Terry Zhao (President) |
Revenue | US$550m financing-2009 |
Owner | Sea Ltd |
Website | www |
Garena is a Singaporean game developer and publisher of free online games. [1] It is the digital entertainment arm of parent company Sea Ltd, [2] which formerly used Garena as the parent company name. [3]
The company distributes game titles on Garena+ in various countries across Southeast Asia and Taiwan, including the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth , the first-person shooter game Point Blank , the mobile MOBA game Arena of Valor and the mobile racing game Speed Drifters . [4] Garena also used to distribute the football simulation game EA Sports FC Online, until Garena and EA Sports decided to retire the game. [5]
In 2017, it released Free Fire , which had over 150 million daily active users globally by May 2021. [6] As of February 2024, Free Fire had 100 million active users. [7]
Garena was established by Forrest Li in Singapore in 2009. [8]
In 2010, Riot Games awarded the publishing rights of League of Legends (LoL) to Garena, for the game’s first launch in Southeast Asia. [9]
In November 2011, Garena announced its publishing rights for the team-based shooter game, Firefall, in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. [10]
In December 2011, Garena announced their collaboration [11] with online games developer, Changyou, to publish and operate the popular 3D martial arts game, Duke of Mount Deer, in Taiwan. The game was the first MMORPG game available through Garena+. The game combines a classic Chinese story with the latest 3D rendering technology and cinematic quality graphics. Duke of Mount Deer [12] was created by several top online-gaming experts from China and South Korea and has gained much popularity in China. The same month, the "Dominion" game mode for Garena's League of Legends players in Singapore and Malaysia was launched. [13]
Upon its establishment in 2009, the entire company operated under the name Garena. In March 2015, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), one of the largest pension funds in the world, invested in the company, valuing it at over US$2.5 billion. [14]
In May 2017, a corporate rebranding took place, and the parent company adopted the name Sea Ltd. after raising US$550 million in a funding round . [15] [16] However, the digital entertainment segment retained the Garena name, maintaining its brand identity in the gaming industry. [17]
In 2017, Garena launched its first self-developed mobile game, Free Fire. Since its release, Free Fire has gained a substantial user base in Southeast Asia and Latin America and expanded its reach, being available in more than 130 countries. [18] As of February 2024, Free Fire has over 100 million daily active users worldwide. [7] According to data.ai, it was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide from 2019 [19] to 2021 [20] and continued to lead as the most-downloaded mobile battle royale game in 2022 [21] and 2023. [22]
Free Fire's popularity extends into the esports arena. The Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore (FFWS 2021 SG), held in May 2021, achieved a record of 5.4 million concurrent viewers, excluding Chinese platforms. [23] This marked the highest peak viewership for any esports match in history, as reported by Esports Charts. [24]
In January 2021, Garena acquired Vancouver-based Phoenix Labs, the developers of Dauntless . [25] [26] The acquisition aimed to expand Garena's international presence and enhance its capabilities in game development globally. Operations at Phoenix Labs and the development of Dauntless continued without disruption following the acquisition. [27] By 2023, Phoenix Labs had transitioned back to operating as an independent studio following a management buyout supported by investors. [28]
By the second quarter of 2021, Garena reported having 725 million active users, 45% more than the year prior, while the number of paid users grew 85% year-on-year, reaching 92 million. [29] However, the outlook for Garena appeared less optimistic in 2022. Reports from March indicated that Garena was projected to achieve US$2.9 billion to US$3.1 billion in bookings for the year, a decrease from US$4.6 billion in 2021. [30] This forecasted decline would mark the first ever downturn in Garena's business. [30] One contributing factor to this decline was the ban on its "Free Fire" title in India, affecting its availability on both Google Play and Apple app stores. [30] [31] [32]
In September 2021, Garena announced the global launch of Free Fire Max, an enhanced version of its flagship game, Free Fire. [33] Designed as a standalone application, Free Fire Max retains the core gameplay of Free Fire but incorporates several upgrades, including enhanced graphics and an in-app customizable map for increased player immersion. It also features a more realistic map and exclusive content not available in the original version. [33] The connectivity between Free Fire and Free Fire Max is facilitated by Garena’s proprietary technology, Firelink, which ensures full interoperability between both game versions. [33]
By 2023, Sea reported it had stabilized the Garena's business performance and maintained steady demand for Free Fire, which achieved a peak of over 100 million daily active users in February 2024. [34] [35]
In 2023, Garena announced plans to publish Undawn, an open-world zombie survival game, across Southeast Asia. [36] The company also began releasing another mobile game, Black Clover Mobile, based on the popular manga series Black Clover . [37]
In 2010, Garena launched its first product, Garena+, an online game and social platform for people to meet, chat and play games with one another. [38] Other online products of the company include BeeTalk [39] and TalkTalk. [40]
In May 2012, Garena launched the Garena Premier League (GPL), a six-month-long online professional gaming league with more than 100 matches to be played. The first season of GPL is a League of Legends competition which comprises six professional teams. The teams are Bangkok Titans (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur Hunters (Malaysia), Manila Eagles (Philippines), Saigon Jokers (Vietnam), Taipei Assassins (Taiwan) and Singapore Sentinels (Singapore), which represent top players from respective countries. GPL matches are captured and broadcast online along with commentaries, which are available for viewers to watch on the GPL official website. [41]
In January 2013, Garena announced the second season of the Garena Premier League, which would start on 4 January 2013. Garena Premier League 2013 includes two new teams from Taiwan and Vietnam, bringing the total number of teams to eight. The teams are: AHQ, Saigon Fantastic Five, Bangkok Titans, Kuala Lumpur Hunters, Manila Eagles, Saigon Jokers, Taipei Assassins and Singapore Sentinels. [42]
In November 2014, the Garena e-Sports Stadium, a dedicated venue for esports, opened in Neihu District, Taipei. [43] The studio was built partially to accommodate the beginning of the League of Legends Masters Series, the top-level Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau LoL league that was spin-off of the GPL. The Garena e-Sports Stadium officially closed in 2019, and future Garena events will be held at the Logitech G Esports Arena in Taipei. [44]
In January 2015, Garena launched Iron Solari League, a women's League of Legends tournament in the Philippines. [45] It is a monthly event organized in the second half of each month. It aims to encourage participation by under-represented groups and is open to all those who self-identify as female.
Besides competitive tournaments, Garena also organizes events to cater to users to meet and connect offline. This includes the annual Garena Carnival held in Singapore and Malaysia. [46]
In 2019, Garena held its largest esports event for Free Fire, the Free Fire World Series in Rio de Janeiro, which drew a peak of more than 2 million concurrent viewers. [47] The following year, Garena's tournament, the Free Fire Continental Series (FFCS), was conducted across three regions: the Americas, Asia, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). The Asia Series broke records with over 2.5 million peak concurrent viewers, according to Esports Charts. [48]
In 2021, the Free Fire World Series finals in Singapore achieved a new milestone for mobile esports by attracting over 5.4 million peak concurrent online viewers, the highest recorded for any mobile esports event. [49]
In December 2023, Garena announced plans to consolidate all local Free Fire leagues under the FFWS (Free Fire World Series) brand starting in 2024. This initiative aims to standardize the game's esports framework and enhance its global identity. [50] Additionally, Garena entered into a partnership with the Esports World Cup (EWC) Foundation, leading to Free Fire's inclusion as a competition title at the inaugural EWC, scheduled to occur in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in July 2024. [51]
On February 3, 2015, Garena eSports announced restrictions on the participation of gay and transgender individuals in an all-female League of Legends tournament, citing concerns about an "unfair advantage." This decision was met with criticism from the gaming community and a statement from League of Legends developer Riot Games affirming that "LGBT players are welcome at official LoL tournaments." On February 4, 2015, Garena issued an apology and rescinded the restrictions. [52]
Garena provides a platform for game titles such as Defense of the Ancients and Age of Empires , and also publishes games, like multiplayer online battle arena games League of Legends , Heroes of Newerth, Free Fire, Call of Duty and Black Shot for players in the region.
Garena-published games:
Title | Genre | Developer | Year of launch | Countries | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BlackShot | MMOFPS | Vertigo Games | 2009 | Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines | Changed as self-published (Vertigo Games via PapayaPlay [53] ) |
Mstar | Casual/Dance | Nurien/Netmarble | 2009 | Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore | Closed 26 August 2019 |
League of Legends | MOBA | Riot Games | 2010 | Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau, Thailand, Vietnam | Closed and Changed as self-published; since January 2023 [54] [55] |
Heroes of Newerth | MOBA | Frostburn Studios | 2010 | Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, CIS | Closed on 20 June 2022 |
Duke of Mount Deer | MMORPG | Changyou.com | 2011 | Taiwan | Closed 24 March 2014 |
Point Blank | MMOFPS | Zepetto | 2012 | Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia | Closed 28 June 2017; later relaunch in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia (self-published) |
Path of Exile | ARPG | Grinding Gear Games | 2013 | Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, CIS, Thailand | Closed 2016 (CIS), [56] ?[ citation needed ] (Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia) |
Elsword | MMORPG | KOG Studios | 2013 | Philippines | Closed 2 December 2015 |
Firefall | Team Shooter/FPS | Red 5 | 2014 | Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines | Closed |
Lost Saga | Casual/Fighting | IO Entertainment | 2015 | Thailand, Taiwan | Closed 3 December 2017 |
Thunder Strike | Vertical Scroller | sunmosh | 2015 | Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam | Closed 6 October 2017 |
Alliance of Valiant Arms | Team Shooter/FPS | Red Duck Inc./NEOWIZ | 2015 | Singapore, Malaysia | Closed 3 July 2018 |
Vindictus | MMORPG | devCAT/Nexon | 2015 | Thailand | Closed 31 August 2018 |
Arena of Valor (Mobile Game) | MOBA | Tencent TiMi Studio | 2016 | Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan. | |
Free Fire (Mobile Game) | Battle Royale | Garena | 2017 | Global | [57] |
Blade & Soul | MMORPG | Team Bloodlust/NCSoft | 2017 | Thailand, Vietnam | Closed 15 August 2023 (Vietnam) |
FIFA Online 3 | Sports/Soccer | Electronic Arts | 2018 | Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam | Closed and replaced by FIFA Online 4 |
Ring of Elysium | Battle Royale | Tencent Aurora Studio | 2018 | Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Indonesia | Closed 21 January 2022 |
TalesRunner | Sports | Rhaon/Smilegate | 2018 | Indonesia | Closed |
Onmyoji (Mobile Game) | Visual Novel/Action | NetEase Games | 2018 | Thailand | Closed 3 April 2019 |
DD Tank (Mobile Game) | Artillery | MMOG.asia/Changyou.com | 2018 | Thailand | [ citation needed ] |
Rising Force Online | MMORPGs | CCR International | Thailand | [ citation needed ] | |
FIFA Online 4 | Sports/Soccer | Electronic Arts | 2018 | Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam | |
Call of Duty: Mobile (Mobile Game) | Battle Royale/Multiplayer | Activision/Tencent TiMi Studio | 2019 | Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines | |
Speed Drifters (Mobile Game) | Racing | Tencent TiMi Studio | 2019 | Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau | |
Contra: Return (Mobile Game) | Run and Gun Shooter | Tencent TiMi Studio/Konami | 2019 | Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia | |
Fairy Tail: Forces Unite (Mobile Game) | RPG | Tencent Morefun Studios | 2020 | Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines | [58] |
Free Fire MAX (Mobile Game) | Battle Royale | Garena | 2021 | Global | |
Moonlight Blade M (Mobile Game) | MMORPG | Tencent Games | 2021 | Taiwan | [59] |
Blockman GO (Mobile Game) | Sandbox | Zhuhai Sandbox Network Co. Ltd. | 2017 (relaunched in 2022) | Global | [60] |
Black Clover M (Mobile Game) | RPG | Ilinix, inc | 2022 | Global | [61] |
Undawn (Mobile Game) | MMORPG | Tencent Games | 2023 | Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand | [36] |
Cái Thế Tranh Hùng (Mobile Game) | Strategy, Role Playing | Topjoy | 2023 | Vietnam | |
Need for Speed Mobile [a] (Mobile Game) | Racing | Electronic Arts/Tencent TiMi Studio | 2024 | Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau | |
The League of Legends World Championship is the annual professional League of Legends world championship tournament hosted by Riot Games and is the culmination of each season. Teams compete for the champion title, the 44-pound (20-kilogram) Summoner's Cup, and a multi-million-dollar championship prize. In 2018, the final was watched by 99.6 million people, breaking 2017's final's viewer record. The tournament has been praised for its ceremonial performances, while receiving attention worldwide due to its dramatic and emotional nature.
Arena of Valor, formerly Strike of Kings, is an international adaptation of Honor of Kings, a multiplayer online battle arena developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Level Infinite for Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch for markets outside Mainland China. As of September 2018, the game has grossed over $140 million outside China. Arena of Valor was one of the esports titles featured at the 2018 Asian Games, 2019 Southeast Asian Games, 2021 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and 2021 SEA Games as part of the competitive sport. Arena of Valor was published in other regions by Garena, DeNA, Actoz SG, and TiMi Studio Group.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) is a mobile multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed and published by Chinese developer Moonton, a subsidiary of ByteDance. The game was released in 2016 and grew in popularity, most prominently in Southeast Asia.
Forrest Li Xiaodong is a Singaporean billionaire businessman. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Sea Limited, a company with subsidiaries including Garena, Shopee, and SeaMoney. He is also the chairman of Lion City Sailors FC, which is owned by Sea.
Aces Pro Bren Esports, commonly known as AP Bren, is a Southeast Asian professional esports organization based in the Philippines. It has competitive teams in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, CS:GO, PUBG, League of Legends, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Clash Royale, Arena of Valor, Rules of Survival, Valorant, and Tekken 7. In the Philippine esports league The Nationals, the team competes as Bren EPro. The organization was founded on 16 August 2017 by Bernard "Bren" Chong who is part of the Chong clan that owns World Balance.
Team Flash is a professional esports organization based in Singapore. They compete in several esports disciplines and games including Arena of Valor, Brawl Stars, EA Sports FC Online, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, PUBG Mobile, and Valorant. The organization also formerly fueled teams in Dota 2, Free Fire, StarCraft II, and League of Legends: Wild Rift.
TiMi Studio Group, a subsidiary of Tencent Games, is a video game development studio group headquartered in Shenzhen, China and offices in Singapore, Montréal, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chengdu, and Shanghai. TiMi generated an estimated revenue of $10 billion USD in 2020. Reportedly, TiMi is the largest video game operator and developer in the world by revenue. Founded in 2008 as Jade Studio, TiMi comprises several development divisions with different areas of expertise and develops games in different genres for PC, mobile, and Nintendo Switch, including Honor of Kings, Arena of Valor, Call of Duty: Mobile, Speed Drifters, and Pokémon Unite.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup, referred to as MSC, is an annual international tournament for professional esport teams for the MOBA game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang hosted by Moonton during the halfway point of each year split since 2017.
Free Fire is a free-to-play battle royale game developed and published by Garena for Android and iOS. It was released on 8 December 2017. It became the most downloaded mobile game globally in 2019 and has over 1 billion downloads on Google Play Store. In the first quarter of 2021 it was the highest grossing mobile game in the US. In November 2019, it surpassed $1 billion in lifetime revenue. In 2021, Free Fire had surpassed 150 million daily active users. As of February 2024, Free Fire had 100 million active users. In September 2021, Garena released Free FireMax, a graphically enhanced version of the game with improved textures, lighting, and sound effects.
The Pacific Championship Series (PCS) is a professional esports league for League of Legends teams competing in the Asia-Pacific. Riot Games, the game's developer, created the league in 2019. This followed an announcement by Garena – the game's distributor in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia – that it planned to merge the League of Legends Master Series (LMS) and League of Legends SEA Tour (LST) into a single tournament jointly run with Riot Games.
Stalwart Esports is an Indian professional esports organisation focused on mobile gaming. It was founded in January 2020. Stalwart Esports has teams competing in PUBG Mobile, Free Fire, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars and Call of Duty: Mobile.They became the first esports organisation to adopt cryptocurrencies in their balance sheet.
Sea Limited is a tech conglomerate headquartered in Singapore. Established in 2009 by Forrest Li, Sea was initially founded as Garena, a game development and publishing company known for its Free Fire title. The company rebranded itself under the present-day Sea brand in May 2017 after securing funding worth US$550 million, although the Garena brand was retained for its digital entertainment arm. Sea has over 67,000 employees, as of 2022.
The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championship is the annual professional Mobile Legends: Bang Bang world esports championship tournament for the game wherein teams worldwide would be facing off each other to become the world champion for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The yearly tournament is presented by Moonton and has been held five times.
Blacklist International is a Southeast Asian esports organization under Tier One Entertainment. They manage competitive esports divisions in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Call of Duty: Mobile.
SEM9 is a professional esports organisation based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was founded on 14 January 2020 by Kevin Wong Yew Joon, its current CEO. It has teams competing in PUBG Mobile, Garena Free Fire, League of Legends, and Sim Racing. It previously had teams competing in Call of Duty: Mobile and League of Legends: Wild Rift. The organisation also operates SEM9 Senai, an esports-themed hotel located in Senai, Johor, Malaysia.
The Philippines national esports team represents the Philippines in international esports tournaments. It is organized under the Philippine Esports Organization.
The Free Fire World Series (FFWS) is the annual professional Free Fire world championship tournament hosted by Garena. Teams compete for a total prize pool of US$2 million. The 2021 edition of the event became world's most watched esports event by peak live viewer count at the time.
Garena was founded in 2009 as an online gaming platform and its games business will retain that name.