Webzen now suing Red 5 Korea in wake of FireFall arbitration
It looks like Webzen won't be taking Red 5 Studios' recent filing for arbitration lying down. In the wake of Red 5 Studios seeking to end its Asian publishing agreement with Webzen, the Korean publisher has filed suit against Red 5 Korea. According to Korean website This Is Game, Webzen accuses Red 5 Korea of breaching its publishing agreement on several occasions.
Among the claims, Webzen alleges that Red 5 Korea delayed an offline test of FireFall. Red 5 Korea subsequently announced the test, using Webzen's logo, without the publisher's permission. Red 5's Korean branch is also alleged to have sent a press release about Orson Scott Card's involvement with the game, again without Webzen's permission. The proverbial final straw centers around G-Star 2011, a Korean gaming convention. It seems Webzen was preparing to show FireFall at the convention but, after hearing that Red 5 Korea was planning to display FireFall independently, the publisher decided to file suit.
Just where all of this leaves the Asian release of FireFall remains to be seen. The game will be self-published by Red 5 in both North America and Europe.
Among the claims, Webzen alleges that Red 5 Korea delayed an offline test of FireFall. Red 5 Korea subsequently announced the test, using Webzen's logo, without the publisher's permission. Red 5's Korean branch is also alleged to have sent a press release about Orson Scott Card's involvement with the game, again without Webzen's permission. The proverbial final straw centers around G-Star 2011, a Korean gaming convention. It seems Webzen was preparing to show FireFall at the convention but, after hearing that Red 5 Korea was planning to display FireFall independently, the publisher decided to file suit.
Just where all of this leaves the Asian release of FireFall remains to be seen. The game will be self-published by Red 5 in both North America and Europe.
