Exclusive Interview with Gamezawy

Featuring Mr. Hans Saleh, Regional Director of Garena in the Middle East and North Africa

• What are Garena’s ambitions for Free Fire in the near future?

  We continue to invest in user engagement by enhancing the Free Fire platform and ensuring a consistent flow of new content tailored to our communities. This includes expanding localization efforts across all tournaments to deliver more engaging content and exciting initiatives for our growing community in Egypt and across the region.

  An example of these localization efforts is the success of local tournaments, like *FREE FIRE: The Battle of Egypt*. We hope such events will provide opportunities for Egyptian players to pursue a professional future in gaming and esports.

• What distinguishes Free Fire’s player community in the Middle East?

  Our players are highly competitive, socially active, and extremely engaged. They enjoy playing Free Fire both individually and with friends or family.

• What challenges did you face when expanding into the Middle East?

  Over the years, Free Fire has grown into a globally and locally recognized brand, driven by our commitment to delivering high-quality experiences. Localization is a key component of these efforts, as we actively communicate with our players to gather feedback and better understand their preferences and interests, both within Free Fire and beyond.

  By combining global content with localized experiences, we’ve been able to establish and nurture a rapidly growing community of passionate players in Egypt and the region.

• Does Egypt’s current internet infrastructure support the growth of gaming communities, or does it require changes, especially given limited data packages?

  Digital transformation is crucial for all countries. Initiatives by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Egyptian Esports Federation aim to support this transformation as part of Egypt’s Vision 2030. We look forward to working closely with them and other local partners to enhance digital skills among Egyptian youth and advance the esports ecosystem.

• What is your view on the growth of mobile gaming, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa?

  Mobile gaming has immense potential. Through Free Fire, we see great opportunities to provide our community with more ways to fuel their passion for gaming. We’re focusing on innovating and investing in Free Fire with more content and tournaments that engage users, along with localization efforts to deliver exciting initiatives for our growing community in Egypt and the region.

• Do you plan to develop games for PC or consoles soon, or will your focus remain on mobile gaming?

  Currently, we don’t have plans to share, as we are still in the early stages of defining our strategies. However, our primary focus remains on delivering the best gaming experience for all our users.