Fri, Jul 01, 2011 | 15:46 BST
Firefall developer takes publisher to court
Red 5, developer of the upcoming F2P online shooter Firefall, is reportedly suing its publisher, Webzen, over what it says is a breach of contract.
The dispute is over the amount of marketing (or lack there of) that Webzen has invested in Firefall. Red5 is alleging that Webzen has provided such little marketing as to be in breach of contract.
“The crux of the matter is that the Webzen we see today is not the Webzen that Red 5 partnered with at the beginning of this project,” Red 5′s president, Mark Kern.
Red5 is seeking to have their contract with Webzen terminated, and to gain $5 million in unspent funds.
Webzen has their own side of the story, however. They say that they’ve been waiting for the game to be completed before beginning the marketing campaign, and Firefall’s multiple delays have been the real problem.
“As the publisher of the game in territories other than North America and Europe, Webzen has patiently waited for the completion of the game for five years despite numerous delays in development,” Webzen said to MMORPG.com.
“The game, for which Webzen has invested nearly $25 million, is not yet complete, and we are dismayed that Red 5 has initiated this dispute before we are able to enjoy the results of our investment.”
No word has been released on what this will mean for the development and future release of Firefall.
13 
Posted in: Platform holders
13 comments
#1
G1GAHURTZ
01/07/11, 3:58 pm
Never heard of it.
…They have a case, it seems.
#2
FabioPal
01/07/11, 4:23 pm
Bye bye FireFall. I was looking forward for this
#3
Talkar
01/07/11, 4:25 pm
fire… what now?
#4
Maximum Payne
01/07/11, 4:26 pm
So what is going to happen ?
#5
Erthazus
01/07/11, 4:32 pm
I hope that all of this is bullshit of mega proportions.
FIREFALL looks like a revolution in MMO genre. But i never liked Webzen. They never published something decent.
Developers 5Red said that beta testing will start soon, but since January nothing new.
I’m sad, sad panda.
#6
DrDamn
01/07/11, 4:40 pm
@5
It’s not an MMO. Maybe it’s more a revolution in the action shooter genre?
#7
OlderGamer
01/07/11, 4:43 pm
Me too Erth. I am just hoping things work themself out. This game has too much promise at breaking a lot of molds to be wasted.
#8
Erthazus
01/07/11, 4:46 pm
@6, it’s a MMOFPS. You never heard of it?
It’s really a MMOFPS.
@7, completely agree. So much potential
There are original game designers from Blizzard entertainment who created WoW and even TRIBES.
There is just a sign of this: Epic game of Epic proportions.
#9
DrDamn
01/07/11, 4:51 pm
I hadn’t really heard of it but looked it up based on this article. I remember seeing it before based on the graphical style – which is a good and rare thing these days. It’s still not an MMO though.
http://www.firefallthegame.com/community/threads/frequently-asked-questions-updated-1-11-2011.2/
“Is Firefall an MMO?
No. Firefall is first and foremost an action shooter. We incorporated a lot of elements that you might find in various genres, including MMOs, but it is not an MMO in the traditional sense.”
#10
DSB
01/07/11, 4:59 pm
The game looks like Borderlands, the artstyle look like Champions Online, and the logo looks like Starcraft.
You have been fully briefed.
#11
Maximum Payne
01/07/11, 6:19 pm
@10
#12
endgame
01/07/11, 8:16 pm
can’t wait to get my hands on this.
speaking of which: who’s publishing this in Europe and US?
#13
GwynbleiddiuM
02/07/11, 12:27 am
Blast this… First my Jumpgate Evolution got smacked in the head, now Firefall.. I do hate these kinda news…