Joining the league of video game companies coming out against the internet blacklist bill SOPA, Red 5 Studios, creators of upcoming FPS MMO Firefall, have decided to shut down the game’s beta on the 18th of January in protest.
But wait, that’s not all! Not only are they shutting down the beta, they’re also cancelling their appearance at this year’s E3. This is because E3 is run by the ESA, known supporters of the SOPA bill.
“We are also ashamed of the ESA for supporting a bill which is clearly not in the best interests of gamers or the game industry,” said Red 5 CEO, Mark Kern “We will not attend E3 unless ESA reverses their stance.”
If more widely adopted, I feel like this is a strategy that could work. Not only are they raising awareness with temporary blackouts, but the fact that they are showing the ESA they won’t stand for their crap by pulling out of their event shows that Red 5 is willing to put their money where their mouth is. Of course, we can only hope that by the time E3 actually rolls around this whole internet censorship thing will all just be a bad memory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whytAReStUQ