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Press Releases

From time to time, we send out notifications to the press at large to let them know about major happenings at Red 5 Studios.

  
 

RED 5 STUDIOS TO ESTABLISH EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS IN CORK, IRELAND

Cork, Ireland – May 30, 2012 – Red 5 Studios, an online games developer will establish its European Headquarters in Cork, creating 30 jobs in that region. Red 5 Studios is dedicated to bringing together millions of gamers from across the world by creating immersive worlds, intriguing stories, and compelling characters. The European Headquarters will be responsible for the European rollout of Firefall, Red 5’s free-to-play team based action shooter.

Firefall is one of the most eagerly anticipated games of 2012. The European Headquarters will initially provide customer support, community management and localization for Firefall which, currently in exclusive beta, is due to be fully rolled out in 2012.

Welcoming the investment, IDA Ireland CEO Barry O’Leary, said, “I very much welcome Red 5 Studios’ decision to locate its European Headquarters in Cork and the jobs announced today. The program for Government highlights the digital game industry as a particular priority area for growth and the decision by Red 5 Studios, a fast growing company with such huge potential, will help enhance our status as a centre for the games sector.”

RED 5 STUDIOS LAUNCHES COSPLAY SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

First look at Steve Wang’s Epic “Mourningstar” Costume

Laguna Hills, CA – December 15, 2011 – Red 5 Studios™ announces the launch of its first professional cosplay program, aimed to encourage and inspire the cosplay community by sponsoring passionate and creative individuals. Well-known cosplayer, Crystal Graziano, has been selected for Red 5’s first yearlong sponsorship. She was chosen from a pool of top cosplayers for her previous quality work and passion for videogame roles.

As part of the sponsorship, Red 5 will pay for all of Crystal Graziano’s cosplay activities and unique costume creations for one year – along with supplying professional photography and photoshop sessions. In addition, Crystal Graziano will get to fill the role of Firefall’s heroic female protagonist, “Mourningstar”, at key conventions and promotions throughout 2012.

“Because Firefall’s sci-fi world and story are so rich and colorful, we see there being a lot of interest from artists and designers,” said Red 5 CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Mark Kern. “Developers should embrace these individuals because they add so much to the universe, both in-game and out. This program is our way of showing appreciation and support for what they contribute to the game and community.”

Red 5 has once again called upon the masterful craftsmanship of award-winning Hollywood FX artist, Steve Wang, to create the Mourningstar costume. Complete with lights and effects, this epic cosplay will bring an unprecedented level of realism and detail to Firefall’s Mourningstar character. Red 5 has released a video showing the initial fitting for Steve Wang’s costume at the follow link: http://bit.ly/firefallcosplay.

Red 5 Studios’ upcoming free-to-play open world shooter, Firefall, is currently running the first stage of its exclusive beta – planned to roll-out through 2012. Players can sign-up for the chance to be invited into the beta and meet Firefall’s enthusiastic community at the official homepage: http://www.firefallthegame.com.

About Red 5 Studios
Red 5 Studios is an online game developer located in California, founded by Mark Kern, former team lead for World of Warcraft. Red 5 Studios is dedicated to bringing together millions of gamers across the world by creating immersive worlds, intriguing stories and compelling characters. They believe that online games and persistent worlds are the future of video games. Visit www.red5studios.com for more information.

Firefall, Red 5 Studios and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red 5 Studios, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Red 5 Singapore Licenses Firefall to Garena for Southeast Asia and Taiwan

Garena strikes deal to distribute highly anticipated team-based shooter game in Southeast Asia and Taiwan for US$23 million

Singapore – November 28, 2011. Red 5 Singapore Pte. Ltd. (“Red 5 Singapore”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The9 Limited (NASDAQ: NCTY) (“The9”), today announced that its highly anticipated team-based shooter game, Firefall, is licensed to Garena Online Private Limited (“Garena”) for distribution across Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The agreement is for a term of six years, during which Garena will pay Red 5 Singapore US$23 million, plus royalties, for the exclusive right to distribute Firefall to game players in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, and is an important step in the global rollout of Firefall. This collaboration between The9, Red 5 Singapore and Garena is expected to deliver enhanced outreach of Firefall in these markets, as well as an unrivaled gaming experience.

Mr. Zhu Jun, CEO of Red 5 Singapore, and CEO and Chairman of The9 said, “This agreement is not merely a good start, we view it as an exciting leap forward. Together with Garena, we will deliver Firefall into the hands of eager Asian gamers. When we entered Singapore, we made a commitment to deliver an incredible gaming experience to customers across Asia, and this partnership brings us closer to fulfilling that promise. This license marks a great milestone for The9, Red 5 Singapore and Garena. Now we will turn our attention to China, Korea and Japan.”

Mr. Mark Kern, CEO of Red 5 Studios, Inc., the developer of Firefall, said, “It’s great to see everything progressing across all territories. Red 5 Studios just finished off the year with a fantastic show at G*Star in Korea and we’ve once again been thrilled by everyone’s response to Firefall. There are a lot of fans anticipating Firefall’s launch and the license to Garena makes it possible for us to deliver.”

Mr. Forrest Li, CEO of Garena said, “Our mission is to bring world- wide reputable AAA quality games to millions of gamers of Garena community — the largest gamer community in the region. We believe Firefall is such a game that will redefine the online game experience. We are very excited for this partnership and we will be working closely with The9 and Red5 to provide Garena users with the best possible gaming environment for Firefall.”

The deal establishes an impressive precedent for licensing AAA games in Southeast Asia at US$23 million including licensing fees and minimum guarantees.

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Red 5 Studios Announces Shooter, Firefall

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) September 3, 2010

Today, at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), Red 5 Studios™ announced Firefall™, the studio’s first title. Due for release near the end of 2011, Firefall is a team-based action shooter that thrusts hundreds of players together into a lush, dynamic open world combining intense competitive multiplayer and large-scale cooperative gameplay.

The team at Red 5 Studios® includes a wide variety of talented individuals who have helped develop award-winning games, including the team lead for World of Warcraft and the lead designer behind the groundbreaking Tribes franchise. “When I founded Red 5, I knew I wanted to do something different than anything I’d done before.” says CEO and Chief Creative Officer Mark Kern, who led the development for World of Warcraft. “I wanted to take the best of what I learned making online games and bring that to skill-based shooters.” Scott Youngblood, Firefall’s Lead Designer, couldn’t agree more. “When Mark brought me on to help design Firefall, it was obvious to me that he was dedicated to building something different. With Firefall, I’m finally able to make the game of my dreams.”

Firefall paints a beautifully devastating vision of Earth, 200 years in the future. The promise of a new clean energy source, Crystite, leads to the disastrous arrival of the Melding, a hostile energy storm that engulfs most of our home planet. Earth’s surviving humans must band together in the eye of the Melding storm to save our species. Unfortunately, a new danger emerges as a bloodthirsty race known as The Chosen threatens humanity’s survival.

Players of the game will be able to customize their characters through Firefall’s battleframes system, which will not only allow them to specialize in their favorite style of play, but also give them the flexibility to swap and trade their way to new configurations on-the-fly.

Firefall will feature a free-to-play model that allows players to experience every detail of the vibrant world without having to pay a single penny. Updates to the game, dynamic world events, and other content will also be offered without a price tag, while a marketplace will allow fans to purchase optional enhancements.

Red 5 Studios is currently accepting applications for the beta program of Firefall. For more information, please visit Firefall’s official web site at http://www.firefallthegame.com.

About Red 5 Studios:
Red 5 Studios is an online game developer located in California, founded by Mark Kern, former team lead for World of Warcraft. Red 5 Studios is dedicated to bringing together millions of gamers across the world by creating immersive worlds, intriguing stories and compelling characters. They believe that online games and persistent worlds are the future of video games.

The9 Limited Announces Acquisition of Majority Interest in Red 5 Studios

Shanghai, China – March 22, 2010. The9 Limited (NASDAQ: NCTY) (“The9”), an online game developer and operator in China, and Red 5 Studios, Inc. (“Red 5”), an online game developer in the United States, today jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive investment agreement pursuant to which The9 will invest a total amount of approximately US$20 million for a majority interest in Red 5.

Mr. Jun Zhu, The9’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Red 5 is a creator of innovative entertainment software, designing games that focus on ease of play and fun. With the acquisition, The9’s global strategy is beginning to take shape. It will further enhance our game development capability and diversify our game portfolio and pipeline. I believe our collaboration will create new and exciting entertainment content for people around the world.”

Mark Kern, the Chief Executive Officer of Red 5, said, “We are very excited to welcome The9 as our key investor and to announce that they are making a commitment to us with the equity infusion. The investment recognizes the hard work of the Red 5 team and the strong potential of the game we are working on, as well as our ability, in the future, to become a multi-game studio. By leveraging The9’s outstanding expertise in the operation of online games, we will have a great advantage in bringing our games to millions of online gamers around the world. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with The9.”

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