Free Fire esports in 2025: new format, talent programme and Global Finals host

Game developer Garena has revealed its Free Fire 2025 esports roadmap, featuring a new format and naming Indonesia as the World Series Global Finals host.

In addition, the company announced its new Global Talent Developer programme to support local communities and the esports ecosystem.

The roadmap was shared via a press release and an animated announcement video on the title’s dedicated esports channel on YouTube. This year’s Free Fire competitive season will kick off in April with Free Fire World Series (FFWS) leagues in Brazil, Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa as well as Pakistan.

Furthermore, the FFWS Southeast Asia 2025 Spring and Fall seasons will be open to players in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Both events will be held in Hanoi, Bangkok. The Spring edition will see 18 teams participate through invitations or local qualifiers and compete from April 25th until June 15th.

The best teams across its FFWS ecosystem will advance to the first international Free Fire tournament of the year, the Esports World Cup: Free Fire, running from July 15th-20th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The emerging champion will secure a spot at the second and largest global event of the 2025 competitive calendar. Taking place in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the first time, the Free Fire World Series Global Finals will unfold across three weekends in November, featuring 18 teams.

The 2024 iteration in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, recorded the highest viewership in two years. The event peaked at 731,970 viewers, according to esports data platform Esports Charts.

The new roadmap also includes format changes to the announced tournaments to ‘redefine the competition and further engage fans and players.’ The usual three-day final weekend has been replaced with a day of Point Rush across all tournaments, followed by the Grand Final day.

Moreover, its Champion Rush Point format will determine the Global Finals champion during the Grand Final. The first team to secure the next Booyah! after racing to a predetermined rush point will win the international trophy.

Other format changes include double points for each elimination during the last game of each matchday in the Knockout Stage as well as a new rule that every member of a team must equip a different active skill.

Finally, the Global Talent Development programme is set to empower teams, players and creators through workshops and mentorships from industry professionals. Further details will be released in the future.