Firefall dev shutting down beta in protest of SOPA Firefall developer Red 5 Studios has notified Shacknews that it will shut down its ongoing beta and close its website on for 24 hours beginning January 18 in protest of the 'Stop Online Piracy Act.'

Firefall developer Red 5 Studios has notified Shacknews that it will shut down its upcoming title's beta and website for 24 hours beginning January 18 in protest of the 'Stop Online Piracy Act' (SOPA).

Calling SOPA "misguided legislation," Red 5 Studios CEO Mark Kern said the proposed bill would hurt smaller game companies, "who will not have the legal resources or lobbying presence to protect themselves from unwarranted shutdown."

"We are extremely disappointed in this misguided legislation. 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," Kern added.

The Entertainment Software Association recently came out in support of the bill, and by association with the group, a laundry list of major game companies are standing behind it as well. While some ESA members have spoken out against the bill, none have canceled their membership.

"No we are not, and now we never will be," Kern told me when asked if Red 5 Studios supported The ESA.

When asked if Red 5 Studios would appear at future E3 events considering the company's position against the ESA, CEO Mark Kern said: "No, we will not attend E3 unless ESA reverses their stance."

[Update: 7:35pm PT] "I just had my staff cancel our E3 plans," Kern added in a follow-up email.