Red 5 Studios to 'rethink,' shut down Firefall's PvP mode

Red 5 Studios will temporarily shut down PvP for its free-to-play, massively multiplayer shooter, Firefall, at "some near future point," CEO and chief creative officer Mark Kern announced via the game's official website.

According to Kern's post, the game's pursuit of eSports is "not working very well." Kern specifically points to the latest attempt, Jetball, which attracts less than three percent of players in the game. Kern added that in its current state, PvP does not represent Firefall "at its best."

"PvP has suffered as our focus has had to focus on the popular PvE part of our game," Kern wrote. "People want more content, fewer bugs and more polish on these world systems. For these reasons, we have made the tough decision to suspend PvP and take the system offline so that we can rethink it and relaunch it. PvP is an important part of our game, and we want to get it right."

There is no timetable for when PvP will close or reopen. Firefall launched in open beta in July — a "rocky start" that kept some players from being able to log in or use in-game features.