'Free Fire': Mohamed Ramadan to become first Arab character in popular battle royale game

Gamers in the region will be able to play as the Egyptian megastar 'soon'

Egyptian superstar Mohamed Ramadan during the launch of his single 'Ya Habibi' in Dubai in 2020. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Egyptian singer Mohamed Ramadan performs during the 2019 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) in Lagos, on November 24, 2019. AFP

Egyptian artist Mohamed Ramadan attends the third Gouna Film Festival, in El Gouna, Egypt, September 19, 2019. EPA

Egyptian actor and singer Mohamed Ramadan performs during a concert at a resort in the North Coast, Egypt, August 23, 2019. EPA

Egyptian actor and singer Mohamed Ramadan performs during a concert at a resort in the North Coast, Egypt, August 23, 2019. EPA

Egyptian sctor Mohamed Ramadan attends the opening ceremony of the 40th Cairo International Film Festival in Cairo, Egypt, November 20, 2018. EPA

Actor Mohamed Ramadan of 'Cairo Exit' poses during the red carpet closing ceremony of the 7th Dubai International Film Festival December 19, 2010. Reuters

Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan poses for photographs with his honorary award during a party for the New Year at El Shorta club in Cairo, Egypt, December 28, 2009. EPA

Egyptian director Saeed Hamid, Egyptian actors Omar El Sherif and Mohamed Ramadan pose for photographs during a press conference on the new movie 'Al Tareek Ela Darfour' held at the Semiramis hotel in Cairo, Egypt, December 5, 2009. EPA

Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan poses for photographers after he received an honor award during the closure of Alexandria 25 Film Festival in Alexandria, Egypt on August 10, 2009. EPA

Free Fire, a popular video game that's grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, has unveiled Mohamed Ramadan as its latest character.

The Egyptian megastar will become the first playable Arab character in the battle royale game.

Scroll through our gallery above to see photos of Mohamed Ramadan through the years.

Created by Singaporean online game developer and publisher Garena, Free Fire is a free-to-play survival shooter available on mobile. Each 10-minute match places users on a remote island where they are pitted against 49 other players. They can ambush, snipe or even hide, as there is only one goal: to survive.

A preview of Mohamed Ramadan's character in 'Free Fire'. Courtesy Garena

The game has had a huge rise in popularity among users globally in recent years, and it was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in 2020 across both iOS App and Google Play stores for the second year in a row.

Scroll through our gallery above to see photos of Mohamed Ramadan through the years.

As of May 2020, it had 80 million daily active users, according to VentureBeat.

Free Fire's partnership with Ramadan builds on its aim to offer a localised experience and tailor its content to appeal to fans in the Mena region, according to a statement.

Who is Mohamed Ramadan?

The multi-talented Ramadan is a singer, rapper, dancer and producer, who gained worldwide fame for his acting career. He's noted for his roles in action films and TV series such as Al Ostoura, Zelzal and Al-Prince.

During the holy month of Ramadan, he is also set to star in TV series Mousa, which has been shooting in Cairo.

Ramadan, who has been caught up in a couple of controversies over the past year, has also become a prominent name in the music industry, with releases including Number 1, Mafia and Ya Habibi, a song which he premiered in Dubai.

Mohamed Ramadan's 'Ya Habibi' single was promoted on Spotify's billboard in Times Square, New York. Courtesy Spotify

In May 2020, he famously released a song about Covid-19, called Coronavirus, in which he sings about how the virus turned the world on its head.

Free Fire World Series 2021

Earlier in March, Garena revealed plans for the Free Fire World Series 2021, a hybrid digital and in-person event with a $2 million prize pool, according to Esports Insider.

The play-ins will be held on Saturday, May 22 and feature 12 teams that came first or second in the title's regional tournaments. At the finals on Saturday, May 29, the top two play-in teams will take on 10 seeds from each regional competition.

These events, which were held exclusively online in 2020, were originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 24 and Saturday, May 1, but were postponed because of the pandemic.