Firefall parent company sees profits rise with shift toward in-house development

Chinese game developer The9 has announced its financial results for the second half of its 2011 fiscal year, noting that profits rose as it refocused its efforts on internal game development. For the second half of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, The9 saw net revenues of RMB 55.1 million ($8.7 million), which remained largely flat year over year, as the company saw an increase in revenue from its overseas licenses and its TV game platform, offset by a decrease in revenue from its existing MMOs. Gross profits for the second half of 2011, meanwhile, increased dramatically year over year from RMB 2.4 million ($381,000) to RMB 26.9 million ($4.2 million) , thanks to the fact that The9 developed more of its games in-house, and thus did not have to pay additional royalties. "In 2011, we are still undergoing the strategic transition from a domestic online game operator to an international online game developer and operator with diversified platforms," added The9 chairman and CEO Jun Zhu. "In the second half of 2011, we further strengthened our MMORPG and web and social game pipeline by following our strategy of focusing on games with the highest quality," he said. Currently, The9 is working to expand to the West with titles like Red 5's MMO shooter Firefall. The company acquired Red 5 in 2010, and the upcoming game will mark its biggest release outside of Asia. The9 also operates games including Soul of The Ultimate Nation, FIFA Online 2, Atlantica and Kingdom Heroes 2 Online in China.