Joystiq

Red 5 putting 'e-sports toolkit' in Firefall to encourage shoutcasting, e-sports interest

Mike Schramm — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 23:00:00 EST

Red 5 Studios has revealed what it's calling the "e-sports toolkit" for its upcoming free-to-play shooter Firefall, with two new modes for broadcasters and commentators to keep an eye on the action. There will be a standard observer mode, with the ability to watch a match from the top down or from a certain player's perspective, open to anyone that wants to use it. And then specially-approved broadcasters will get more options, like the ability to fly around the map, or watch different cameras from the game at the same time.

In an interview with PC Gamer, Red 5's "e-sports maven" (and former Fragdoll) Morgan Romine talks about how the developer is doing everything it can to make e-sports a priority, including tweaking classes and even the game's core attributes like movement speed. The goal, says Romine, is "to have an FPS that has the long term viability of a Counter-Strike," so Red 5 is really aiming to make observing and shoutcasting its matches accessible, and is planning e-sports events later on this year at GamesCom, PAX, and other big gamer gatherings.

Of course, just having access to more cameras won't immediately make you the next Phreak or Day[9]. But better tools are always more helpful, and Red 5 hopes that by making these tools available, more players will get engaged with its upcoming title.

Red 5 putting 'e-sports toolkit' in Firefall to encourage shoutcasting, e-sports interest originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall tournament to be held at Gamescom, sponsored by ESL

Mike Schramm — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:45:00 EST

Red 5 Studios will be holding a Firefall beta tournament at Gamescom next week, so if you're in the neighborhood you could jump in and play in the ESL-sponsored tournament for a total of £10,000 in winnings.

Qualifying matches will be held on Thursday and Friday, August 16 and 17, after which semi-finals and finals will be held on Saturday with a final 5v5 Team Deathmatch. Players will be able to register on Red 5's own website, so stay tuned for that.

Red 5 just recently hit 500,000 registered beta users, so it can't be long now until we see an open beta and a full public release for the long-awaited free-to-play shooter.

Firefall tournament to be held at Gamescom, sponsored by ESL originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall reaches 500K registered users, system specs announced

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:30:00 EST

Firefall, the coming free-to-play shooter from Red 5 Studios, has topped 500,000 registered users. The game has wrapped up the first stage of its closed beta, and the studio expects to ramp up the number of beta invites as it enters stage two. Based on user feedback, Red 5 is planning a lot of changes to Firefall over the summer, which are detailed in the video above.

Meanwhile, the studio has also released the PC specs for Firefall. Check them out after the break, and sign up for the beta if you're so inclined.

Continue reading Firefall reaches 500K registered users, system specs announced

Firefall reaches 500K registered users, system specs announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall shutting down beta in SOPA protest, Minecraft sites join in [update]

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:10:00 EST

Red 5 Studios will shut down the Firefall beta on January 18, joining Reddit in its one day protest of the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA). CEO Mark Kern told Shacknews that the "misguided legislation" would hurt smaller game companies that wouldn't have the legal resources to protect themselves in case of an "unwarranted shutdown."

"We are also ashamed of the ESA for supporting a bill which is clearly not in the best interests of gamers or the game industry," Kern said, taking his protest of the organization that puts on the annual E3 event one step further. "We will not attend E3 unless ESA reverses their stance."

"We issue a call to all our industry peers, including developers, publishers and game press, to join us in letting the ESA know they do not represent our views on this issue, and strongly oppose SOPA and PIPA."

Despite the ESA's support of SOPA, some members have spoken out against the political lobbying group's stance. Non-member developers have also started speaking out this week, including League of Legends developer Riot Games and Torchlight's Runic Games.

Update: Markus Persson has stated Minecraft.net and Mojang.com will join in the protest.

Firefall shutting down beta in SOPA protest, Minecraft sites join in [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Razer's 'Project Fiona' is a gaming tablet prototype ... and it plays PC games

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:10:00 EST

Perhaps the PlayStation Vita's leggy 5 inch screen just isn't enough for your dedicated gaming portable needs. Perhaps -- and this is just a theoretical, of course -- you think Sony's promise of console quality games on the Vita isn't nearly as important as full-on console games on the go. Enter Razer's "Project Fiona PC Gaming Tablet." It's merely a prototype (at least for now), but this may be the go-to portable for you at some point in the future, fictional crazy person.

Razer unveiled the prototype concept this week at CES, ending an ambiguous, weeks-long promotional campaign (seen after the break). According to a press release issued by the hardware company, the Project Fiona tablet comes with an Intel Core i7 processor, and is capable of running "current-generation PC games" -- Firefall, Assassin's Creed: Revelations and H.A.W.X. 2 are shown in the teaser, offering examples of some titles that will apparently work on the device -- surprise surprise, Ubisoft is jumping at the chance to showcase its wares on a new gaming device. Razer claimed in the announce that "many" PC games will "run natively" on the device without any need for specialization.

Beyond being a super powerful gaming tablet, Project Fiona also keeps up with the Joneses by including "ultra-precise accelerometers and a highly sensitive multi-touch screen," which is intended to give developers a chance to cater their PC games to the device. It also has now de rigeur forced feedback, so you can rumble while commuting.

Unlike Razer's previous gaming prototype, the Switchblade, the company isn't giving out a hard price for Project Fiona, but said it'll be "under $1,000" when it's expected to launch in "Q4 2012."

Gallery: Razer's 'Project Fiona' PC gaming tablet

Continue reading Razer's 'Project Fiona' is a gaming tablet prototype ... and it plays PC games

Razer's 'Project Fiona' is a gaming tablet prototype ... and it plays PC games originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red 5 picks up former Crytek graphics man, Ury Zhilinsky

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:30:00 EST

Developer Red 5 has recruited one of the masterminds behind CryEngine 3 and Crysis 2, Ury Zhilinsky, to work on its coming titles, the shooter-RPG Firefall and an unannounced, cloud-based project titled Stage 5. Zhilinsky is now Red 5's senior programmer, and the studio isn't done searching for fresh talent.

Considering Firefall entered beta this summer and it is scheduled for release in winter 2011 (that's now), we assume Zhilinsky and his new team will be working on this mysterious new game, Stage 5. Or maybe he was hired to completely redesign the Firefall character models to include water wings and ball gowns before its release any day now. Maybe.

Red 5 picks up former Crytek graphics man, Ury Zhilinsky originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall dev diary discusses class balance, 'heroic moments'

David Hinkle — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:30:00 EST

Lead class designer David Williams is in the hot seat to explain "heroic moments" in Firefall. We imagine these will be like that one time we rescued a scared kitty trapped in a tree. We felt pretty heroic afterwards.

Firefall dev diary discusses class balance, 'heroic moments' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall's PAX trailer could really use a lozenge

Mike Schramm — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

There's so much to fight on Firefall's planet: Indigenous creatures, invading aliens and, if the voice in this trailer is any indication, air full of particulate matter that can clog up your vocal folds. Need some water, dude?

Firefall's PAX trailer could really use a lozenge originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall preview: Something for everyone

Griffin McElroy — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST

There's a good chance that Firefall is going to be your absolute, undeniable jam. It's just one of those combinations of features and ideas that should apply to at least (but probably more than) one of your sensibilities: It has class-based shooting, customizable loadouts, loot, strategy, a persistent world, character creation and a focus on cooperative, Player vs. Environment gameplay.

Any of those tickle your fancy? They tickle mine. They tickle all of my fancies simultaneously.

Continue reading Firefall preview: Something for everyone

Firefall preview: Something for everyone originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall is ready to ignite this December [update: beta this month]

Richard Mitchell — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:40:00 EST

Red 5 Studio's upcoming free-to-play shooter, FireFall, will launch this December. The news comes via Red 5's Mark Kern in an interview during the ChinaJoy gaming expo. For those who like a little extra sauce on their launch date news, Kern reconfirmed the date in the FireFall forums.

FireFall, lest you've forgotten, is a massively multiplayer online shooter headed up by lead designer Scott Youngblood. Yeah, the same Scott Youngblood that designed Tribes. And did we mention it's going to be free?

Curious gamers should keep their eyes peeled, as a beta test is slated to roll out sometime before launch.

Update: The Escapist reports that beta will begin accepting more players later this month. Interested players can sign up at the FireFall website.

Firefall is ready to ignite this December [update: beta this month] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Webzen now suing Red 5 Korea in wake of FireFall arbitration

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:30:00 EST

It looks like Webzen won't be taking Red 5 Studios' recent filing for arbitration lying down. In the wake of Red 5 Studios seeking to end its Asian publishing agreement with Webzen, the Korean publisher has filed suit against Red 5 Korea. According to Korean website This Is Game, Webzen accuses Red 5 Korea of breaching its publishing agreement on several occasions.

Among the claims, Webzen alleges that Red 5 Korea delayed an offline test of FireFall. Red 5 Korea subsequently announced the test, using Webzen's logo, without the publisher's permission. Red 5's Korean branch is also alleged to have sent a press release about Orson Scott Card's involvement with the game, again without Webzen's permission. The proverbial final straw centers around G-Star 2011, a Korean gaming convention. It seems Webzen was preparing to show FireFall at the convention but, after hearing that Red 5 Korea was planning to display FireFall independently, the publisher decided to file suit.

Just where all of this leaves the Asian release of FireFall remains to be seen. The game will be self-published by Red 5 in both North America and Europe.

Webzen now suing Red 5 Korea in wake of FireFall arbitration originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall dev diary features Orson Scott Card, reveals planned free manga comic

Mike Schramm — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EST

Here's the latest developer diary for Red 5 Studios' Firefall, which outlines the general backstory for the upcoming free-to-play co-op multiplayer shooter. Red 5's CEO Mark Kern, who served as team lead on a little indie title you may have heard of called World of Warcraft, walks us through the tale of Crystite and a dying future Earth, beset by an alien race called the Chosen.

He also introduces writer Orson Scott Card, who talks about how he put the story together for what's "essentially ... a post-double apocalyptic world." Card's also working on a manga with his daughter Emily Card, to be published free on Red 5's website in conjunction with Udon Comics.
The manga is supposed to be available sometime before the game is due out later this year.

Firefall dev diary features Orson Scott Card, reveals planned free manga comic originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red 5 in legal battle with Webzen over FireFall, seeking $5 million

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 01:00:00 EST

Firefall developer Red 5 Studios has filed for legal arbitration against Korean publisher Webzen. According to Red 5, Webzen has committed "multiple breaches" in its Asian publishing agreement, and the studio is seeking both to terminate its agreement and to "recover $5 million due to Webzen's alleged breach of its obligation and refusal to commit that money to market the game in the United States." The arbitration should not affect the United States or European release of Firefall, which will both be self-published by Red 5.

Webzen has published its own response to Red 5's claims, stating that it is "undisputable" that it has "fulfilled all of its obligations" to the studio. The publisher also mentions that Firefall has undergone numerous development delays. Webzen also references its own "disputes" with Chinese game operator The9 - majority shareholder in Red 5 - though it makes no direct allegations toward the company. The publisher states further that Red 5 Korea has "infringed Webzen's rights as the publisher in Korea," though no specifics are mentioned. Regarding the arbitration, Webzen says it will comply with the final decision, but plans to "firmly seek all of its remedies under the law."

Continue reading Red 5 in legal battle with Webzen over FireFall, seeking $5 million

Red 5 in legal battle with Webzen over FireFall, seeking $5 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FireFall team deathmatch trailer is very classy

Richard Mitchell — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:15:00 EST

Red 5 Studios has released a new trailer for its upcoming free-to-play FPS, FireFall. The video shows off the various classes, or rather the classes of "frames" with which players can outfit their avatar. Try not to worry about the technicalities and focus on the jet packs and ice bullets.

Red 5 has also announced that there will be a FireFall live streaming event next Friday, May 6. "A group of e-Sports broadcasters" will take part in the event in order to "provide their insights into the game and help [Red 5 Studios] tune the competitive side of Firefall." Red 5 will be showcasing a live match of FireFall during the event, which will be hosted on the studio's Justin.tv channel.

Continue reading FireFall team deathmatch trailer is very classy

FireFall team deathmatch trailer is very classy originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FireFall preview: A different frame of mind

Richard Mitchell — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST

I was pleasantly surprised by FireFall. There are a lot of things to like about it, including competently executed class-based gameplay and what sounds like a very robust player progression system. FireFall even sports a nice, cel-shaded cartoon aesthetic. The surprising part is that FireFall is completely free.

Gallery: Firefall (3/11/11)

Continue reading FireFall preview: A different frame of mind

FireFall preview: A different frame of mind originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red 5 Studios reveal Firefall, coming to PC 'near the end of 2011'

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Perhaps it isn't enough for you to know that Firefall -- Red 5 Studios' first release -- is full of guns and jetpacks? Would it help if you knew that the lead designer was also headed up Tribes? Ahhh, good! Firefall is a "team-based action shooter" featuring "hundreds of players" completing objectives and battling to the death in a "dynamic open world." And, frankly, it looks great.

The title is free-to-play and relies on an in-game marketplace for profit. We might normally balk at such a monetization system, but we were thoroughly impressed by the game's debut gameplay trailer, not to mention the pedigree behind Firefall. If you're as enticed as we are, you'll be glad to know that Red 5 is accepting applications for the game's beta starting right now.

Gallery: Firefall

Continue reading Red 5 Studios reveal Firefall, coming to PC 'near the end of 2011'

Red 5 Studios reveal Firefall, coming to PC 'near the end of 2011' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red 5 Studios standing by to show team-based online shooter at PAX '10

Randy Nelson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:50:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

After the fate of its Offset Engine-powered MMO was left in doubt when the Project Offset team at Intel left the building, Red 5 Studios -- founded by former Blizzard crew -- has confirmed plans to show off its debut effort, a team-based online shooter, at PAX Prime in September. We knew that the developer intended to forge ahead with its game using "highly modified" Offset Engine tech; we just didn't know until now what the nature of the title was or when we'd see it.

It would seem that the $15 million Red 5 received from China's The9 (former operator of World of Warcraft in that territory) got the company through a rough patch, and that its game -- intended for a worldwide market -- will finally have its day in the sun. (If the sun even comes out in Seattle, that is.)

Red 5 Studios standing by to show team-based online shooter at PAX '10 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red 5's Offset-powered MMO still in the cards

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

The future of Project Offset may look grim -- what with the team disbanded and its founders creating a new startup -- but it looks like the Offset Engine will live on. Red 5 Studios, which has been working on an MMO powered by the Offset Engine (concept art can be seen above) for the last several years, has informed Gamasutra that its project is still in the works, despite the Offset-related shenanigans at Intel. "While we are using a highly-modified version of the Project Offset engine," a representative said, "the closing of the Intel team does not impact our ability to complete our own project."

Very little is actually known about the project, though Red 5 itself was founded by former World of Warcraft team members. The studio ran into trouble earlier this year, reportedly laying off nearly 30 employees. Shortly thereafter, the majority stake of Red 5 was acquired by The9, the company once responsible for running World of Warcraft in China.

Red 5's Offset-powered MMO still in the cards originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Killspace Entertainment pulling from ex-Pandemic, EALA; working on two unannounced games

Ben Gilbert — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EST

Ever heard of Killspace Entertainment? Yeah, neither had we until Supererogatory spotted the unannounced development studio's website (replete with strange video). In a Digital Development Management brochure (warning: PDF link), the studio is advertised as having one "Original IP with major publisher" in development and one "Licensed IP -- TBA," though it's said to be working on games for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, iPhone, and Facebook. A quick search on LinkedIn shows that the dev house has been picking up employees from the likes of Obsidian Entertainment, Pandemic Studios, Red 5, and EALA, and will be focusing on "3rd and 1st person character action" titles. It also appears that some employees have been with the studio for over a year, meaning it's not exactly a brand new venture.

Odder still, it appears that one Douglas Markland of Killspace Entertainment is down as the contact on a WHOIS of both ApocalypseNowGame.com and WarIsNotAGame.net (though both sites are still devoid of content as of this writing). We've reached out to the studio for information on any of this and will update this post if we hear more.

Killspace Entertainment pulling from ex-Pandemic, EALA; working on two unannounced games originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Former Blizzard dev starts Atomic Operations game studio

Mike Schramm — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

Industry veteran Chris Millar has been around -- he's been with Blizzard since the WarCraft II days, and has worked on everything from Black and White 2 to Fat Princess - but now he's off to head up his own company called Atomic Operations. In this quick Q&A with Gamasutra, he says that the company will be a grab-bag of methods and products, all using "an evolved production method similar to that of movies." They've already got a project out the door, too: Atomic is the company that's supporting Fat Princess, with the bugfixes released the other day and presumably more to come.

Millar and Atomic Operations join the multitude of other Blizzard veterans off working on their own companies. Let's see, there's Keith Lee and his crew at Booyah, the ex-Blizzard folks at Red 5 Studios, the unfortunate souls at Castaway Entertainment and Flagship Studios (now Gravity Bear and Gargantuan Studios), new WoW TCG licensees Cryptozoic, and a few other little developers and divisions headed up by ex-Blizzard devs. Whew, that's a whole lot of babies -- Blizzard is like the Zeus of gaming studios lately. What are they serving in the cafeteria over there, startup cola?

Former Blizzard dev starts Atomic Operations game studio originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The9 invests nearly $15 million into Red 5 Studios, Fire Rain

Mike Schramm — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST

The9 didn't have the best year in 2009 -- Blizzard decided to take away its ability to run World of Warcraft in China, and as a result, the company reported a Cataclysmic drop in revenues. But the company doesn't want you counting it out of the MMO game just yet: Reuters says that The9 has invested almost $15 million into the ailing Red 5 Studios (which, coincidentally, is staffed by some ex-Blizzard employees) as well as China-based developer Fire Rain. Last we'd heard of Red 5, it was working on some kind of fantasy MMO, though that may have since changed to an MMOFPS. There's definitely an MMO game of some kind; The studio told our buds at Massively that even with The9's help, the game will be aimed at a worldwide market, not just Chinese players.

Time will tell if The9 has a solid strategy to rebound after the big loss of WoW, or if it's desperately trying to invest the last bit of capital to keep the company alive. Red 5's work has always seemed interesting -- here's hoping this infusion is enough to get it to a worthwhile release.

The9 invests nearly $15 million into Red 5 Studios, Fire Rain originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Red 5 Studios gets the axe [update]

David Hinkle — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:14:00 EST

Update: We just received a press release from Red 5 Studios announcing the "reorganization," stating the company has "great respect for these departing team members and the contributions they have made." The press release also confirms that Red 5 Studios has taken aid from a new investment partner and is "currently working on an unannounced massively multiplayer online game." So much for that ping-pong idea!

Original post: Kotaku is reporting that Red 5 Studios, a studio comprised of some key ex-Blizzard personnel, is the latest to be handed its walking papers. A source claims that nothing but a "skeleton crew" remains at Red 5 Studios now, which at one point had offices in Irvine, CA and Shanghai. The latter recently shut its doors, though the relevant press release on Red 5 Studios' site has since been pulled. Apparently, the Irvine home base was also in danger of shutting its doors, but was bought out last week, spurring these layoffs.

The Kotaku tipster said Red 5 Studios was currently at work on a MMOFPS, a militaristic title built on an Offset Software-developed engine as part of an $18.5 million deal inked with Korean publisher Webzen. Obviously, that game is now on hold, and it's believed the "skeleton crew" that remains has shifted its focus toward working on a product for the Chinese market. Might we suggest a table tennis game? We hear that's all the rage over there.

Rumor: Red 5 Studios gets the axe [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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