Red 5 shuts down Firefall PvP to 'rethink' its eSports approach

Red 5 Studios has announced it is closing down its existing player-versus-player mode for Firefall, which entered open beta this past July. The studio cited among its reasons for the system closure an untenable low attract rate for its "controversial eSports route." In a letter to players on the company's blog, Red 5 CEO Mark Kern said that Firefall's PvP attracted a mere 3 percent of its overall userbase, something Kern blames on the high skill level involved. "We have gone through several iterations, [but] it's not working very well," Kern admitted in the letter. Combining these issues with player demand for bug fixes and more PvE content, Kern said the team has decided to "suspend" Firefall's PvP system to "regroup, rethink, and deliver the best PvP system we can." No timetable has been set regarding the server closure, only that "at some future point" Red 5 will be taking its PvP system offline. No target date has been set for a relaunch. Founded in 2005 by Mark Kern, best known for his work as a team lead on World of Warcraft, Red 5 obtained $18.5 million for online development in 2006 from venture capital firms Benchmark Capital and Sierra Ventures. Following reorganization and layoffs in January 2010, Red 5 obtained a cool $20 million in new investment cash from Shanghai-based The9 in February of the same year. In 2011, it was announced Orson Scott Card had been tapped to write Firefall's story.