MMO Shooter Firefall Revealed By Ex-WoW, Tribes Creators

Red 5 Studios, the developer founded by former World of Warcraft team lead Mark Kern, finally unveiled its long-in-the-making online shooter Firefall today. The free-to-play futuristic action game also has a futuristic release date.

Firefall, due “near the end of 2011″, takes place on a futuristic earth from the 23rd century, a “lush, dynamic open world” invaded by the disastrous Melding, a “hostile energy storm” that engulfs the planet. Making matters worse, an alien race known as The Chosen comes a calling, forcing humanity to band together in a large-scale, free-to-play online battle.

Class-based combat is the name of the game in Firefall, which focuses on competitive multiplayer and massive cooperative play. Players wear “high-tech battleframes” that can be customised by players with optional enhancements – supporting that free-to-play online model.

Firefall taps into the talents of Mark Kern, former lead developer of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, and Scott Youngblood, former lead designer on Tribes.

See how Firefall is shaping up in the first released screenshots and concept art for the online game.

Firefall screenshots

Firefall concept art