Newsbrief: Today, Chinese game developer and operator The9 announced that Chinese media company Shanghai Oriental Pearl Culture Development Co., Ltd. has purchased a 20.01 percent stake in its U.S.-based studio Red 5 in a deal valued at $23 million.
Red 5 is the developer of the free-to-play MMO shooter
Firefall. The9
bought a majority stake in the studio for $20 million in 2010.
Acting CEO James Macauley said in a statement that this investment "will offer us the means to execute on our plan for successfully launching
Firefall in 2014." The game is currently in open beta.
Red 5
lost its co-founder and original CEO Mark Kern in December 2013.