Red 5 admits walkout and layoffs

A number of developers have walked out of Californian outfit Red 5 Studios – while others have been told to leave – as the company reforms in its new direction.

A statement released by Red 5 confirmed rumours of disquiet at the company, though details on the matter were scarce. It was said that the company is left with around thirty staff, down from a suspected 100, but Red 5 has made no move to confirm or deny this.

The group confirmed it was working on an MMO, likely primed for the lucrative Chinese market.

A separate Kotaku report suggests that the firm’s new majority shareholder is the NASDAQ-listed Chinese publisher The9, with a source claiming that two of the company’s three founders have now left, as CEO Mark Kern sees the diminished company reorganised.

Red 5 was established back in 2005 by three former Blizzard employees, while its MMOFPS project was thought to have received substantial funding after securing an $18.5 million investment from Benchmark Capital and Sierra Ventures.

It is thought that work on the MMOFPS has been suspended indefinitely, though this has yet to be confirmed.