Watch: Burj Khalifa lights up to celebrate Mohamed Ramadan's character in game 'Free Fire'

The Egyptian superstar is the game's first playable Arab character

The Burj Khalifa lit up on Wednesday night to celebrate Egyptian superstar Mohamed Ramadan's character in mobile game Garena Free Fire.

From Friday, players across the Middle East will be able to choose Ramadan's avatar, known in the game as "Maro", as their character.

This will be the popular game’s first playable Arab character.

The launch was celebrated with two specially created light shows, which included a one-minute announcement, screened on the side of the world’s tallest building in Downtown Dubai at 7.10pm and 9.10pm on Wednesday.

The collaboration with Ramadan is part of Garena’s commitment to attract players in the Mena region by offering localised experiences.

"It is a privilege to be part of the Garena Free Fire community with the launch of my very own character, Maro," Ramadan said. "Garena has done a tremendous job of creating this character and I cannot wait for the fans to see it. I look forward to playing my character on Free Fire and I encourage all my fans to do the same as well."

Maro will be rewarded to Garena Free Fire users through a series of in-game events from Friday until Saturday, May 15, in celebration of the holy month.

"We are delighted to welcome Mohamed Ramadan as our latest brand ambassador and character in Garena Free Fire," said Hans Kurniadi Saleh, head of Garena Indonesia and Mena.

“We are committed to delivering exciting content to our users in the region and are thrilled to unveil this collaboration through the Burj Khalifa Light Show.”

Garena Free Fire 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 for the second year in a row.

The game reached 100 million daily active users at its peak in 2020.

Take a look through the gallery below to see more of Mohamed Ramadan: