PlanetSide 2 – Massive online shooter shutting down in China this May

Publisher The9 recently announced it will not be extending PlanetSide 2‘s contract, and the game will shut down on 31 May. Launching back in 2013, there weren’t many content updates despite The9 spending millions on marketing, even hiring Didier Drogba…

Firefall – The9 CEO is giving out 1.5 mil USD to players in China server

While we recently heard about Red 5 Studios having difficulty paying its employees (apparently now paid), its parent company The9 is throwing a big party under the leadership of multi-millionaire Zhu Jun to celebrate the start of Firefall China. Now…

Firefall – Red 5 Studios was unable to meet payroll on Christmas Day

[Source] According to a recent Reddit post, developer Red 5 Studios “failed to meet payroll” on Christmas Day, 25 December. It was claimed Red 5 Studios is now currently working with China-based parent company, The9, to fulfil its salary obligations.…

CrossFire 2 – China publisher paying USD 500 million to sign game sequel

CrossFire is China’s biggest Free-to-Play video game in history, helping publisher Tencent Games to record earnings every year. CrossFire also helped turned South Korea developer Smilegate into a major studio, right from the brink of closure (if the game failed…

Firefall – The9 CEO claims over USD 100 mil has been invested in the game

After 6 years and over USD 100 million spent on development, publisher The9 finally announced Firefall will be entering the non-wipe phase on 18 Nov in China. Firefall China will actually be published by Shanghai Aozhi Technology, formed by original…

Firefall – Online shooter is actually still looking to launch in China this year

After years of financial turmoil, Firefall is finally ready to launch in China, with the first Closed Beta startingĀ on 15 July. Originally hiring sports stars such as Nicholas Anelka and Didier Drogba as spokesperson, gone are the days of such…

Firefall – Developer greets China players with ridiculous video

Firefall China was in limbo for several years, and plans to launch the game in Southeast Asia and South Korea has came to naught. After events of last year (see below), Firefall China is ready to launch, and it was…

Firefall – China server signed for 5 years in a deal worth USD 160 mil

While it was understood that the China server’s rights were sold by The9 to Qihoo 360 weeks ago, the main details were announced just hours earlier. The contract term is 5 years, with the payables worth at least US$160 million,…

MU Return – Classic game makes suspicious return on browsers

Filled with doubts upon seeing this new browser game from China, I am very certain the developer did not obtain an official license from Webzen, the series’ creator. And I am not surprised to learn that the developer is The9,…

The9 – Firefall owner posts massive financial loss for 2nd half 2012

The9, the China-based online gaming company which saved Red 5 Studios from closing down years back, just revealed that it recorded a whopping $45,700,000 USD loss for 2nd half 2012. The company still has its rich owner as backup, and…

MU2 – Webzen set to take action over China’s bootleg version

Originally known as MUX and developed by China MMO company, The9, the game has just been renamed as “儇čæ¹2”, which is the Chinese name for MU2. Below is the debut trailer.   You see, The9 used to publish Webzen’s MU…

Hot-Blooded 3 Kingdoms – Sola Aoi hired as spokesperson

This post is not really about Hot-Blooded 3 Kingdoms, a new web game in China, but more about Sola Aoi making her 2nd appearance as a game’s spokesperson in the country. Despite Sola Aoi being a Japanese celebrity famous for…

PlanetSide 2 – China publisher launches sexy new campaign

PlanetSide 2, published by The9 in China, recently launched an eye-catching campaign to remind gamers of its existence. The9, if you remember, is also the big boss of North American developer Red 5 Studios (of Firefall fame). PlanetSide 2 China…

Three Kingdoms Brawler – Game closure signals another turn for The9

2 years ago, Chinese MMO publisher The9 was on the brink of closure after World of Wacraft China shifted hands to NetEase. Determined not to repeat the same mistakes, several development studios were being setup, and Three Kingdoms Brawler was…