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In a battle royale game like Free Fire, maps are extraordinary important – they are the location that hundreds of players would have to spend on for ages to come. Why is that? Well, due to the number of people required for a game of battle royale, the more map there is, the more divided the player base would be, which would lead to long searching time on regions with fewer players.
Because of that, they have to design a map super carefully so that players would not get bored playing on them for too long. Currently, there are three maps in Free Fire: Bermuda, Purgatory, and Kalahari. In this article, we would answer the question about Free Fire map in real life and figure out which location they were based on.
1 - Bermuda
The general design of Bermuda
Bermuda is the first map created in Free Fire and due to that reason, it is the most popular one to date. With Free Fire’s player limit for each match being only 50 (one of the lowest in the genre), Bermuda is rather small compared to some of the main maps in other battle royales (like PUBG’s Erangel, for example).
Apparently, Bermuda is a residential or industrial island, with buildings of all types scattered all over the map instead of being a tourist style tropical island like Purgatory. The plants on the map are tropical with vibrant colors all over. There is still a single tourist location on the map, however - Sentosa is probably based on an area in Malaysia or Singapore, the headquarter of Garena.
Which real-life locations the map is based on?
Overall, Bermuda is a combination of various locations in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and even various islands in the Indian Ocean (like the Maldives). The name Bermuda itself was taken from a British island on the coast of America.
The main population centers on Bermuda seem to be Bimasakti strip, Cape Town, Pochinok, and Katulistiwa. The architecture style of the locations is based on Southeast Asian tropical buildings, with a lower number of floors.
2 - Purgatory
The general design of Purgatory
Purgatory was the second map of Free Fire – due to the earlier restriction about the level needed to access the map (you need to be at least level 5), not many players picked this as their favorite. This grew worse… and when Free Fire’s third map, Kalahari, was introduced, Purgatory was removed altogether. This did not go well with fans at all – and after a major backlash, Garena has to add the map back to both unranked and ranked mode.
Purgatory is just about the same size as Bermuda - but unlike Bermuda, it is not an island. The Purgatory area is just a coastal resort town, with the main industry on the map being tourism.
Which real-life locations the map is based on?
Overall, Purgatory is based on South American countries, with elements of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile mashed up together. It is almost not something that could occur in real life, as you should not be able to have a tropical jungle, ski resort, and the sea in such close vicinity. The main landmass of Purgatory is based on Brazil, with the rivers separate the map based on the Amazon river. The mountains on the east and north side are based on the Andes, of course.
3 - Kalahari
The general design of Kalahari
Kalahari is somewhat of an attempt from Garena on a desert map, similar to Miramar of PUBG, as some fans complain that Purgatory and Bermuda look too much alike. However, Kalahari was pretty unpopular – enough for them to bring Purgatory back. The reason behind this is that snipers are too strong on the map due to the lack of covers in general.
Which real-life locations the map is based on?
Kalahari was inspired by various desert regions all over the planet… partially, of course, as the map is too filled with life to be an actual desert. The closest real-life location is probably Australia.
The weirdest things about Kalahari are the various implications that the region was previously submerged underwater, with a stranded submarine, a stranded ship, and even a giant skeleton of a sea monster. However, the ruins on the map contradict that, as the area have to be overland for people to build on.
4 - Verdict about Free Fire Map in Real Life
Overall, the maps in Free Fire are a mashup of various elements in real life and would not be based on any single location. Interested in more of our articles related to Garena Free Fire? Please check out this article to find out more about the Kla character in Free Fire.