CrossFire (video game)
CrossFire is an online tactical first-person shooter for Microsoft Windows developed by Smilegate Entertainment. The game was released in China by Tencent Games, with the company also acting as the exclusive agent service company. The tests for its software bugs were started publicly in April 2008.
Due to its popularity in Asia, especially China and South Korea, it has become the world's most-played video game by player count, with a lifetime total of users in 80 countries worldwide. It was the world's top-grossing online game as of 2014, and went on to become one of the highest-grossing video games of all time, having grossed over in lifetime revenue, as of 2018.
A film adaptation of the game was announced in October 2015. A remake and a sequel, CrossFire HD and CrossFire 2, respectively, are in development at Smilegate, with Remedy Entertainment working on both games' single-player portions. An Xbox One version of the game that incorporates Remedy's campaign, known as CrossFireX, was announced at E3 2019 and is set to be released for free in 2020.
Gameplay
CrossFire is a free-to-play first-person shooter that features two mercenary corporations named the "Black List" and "Global Risk," fighting each other in an epic global conflict. Players assume the role of either a Black List or Global Risk mercenary, joining an online team that must work together to complete objective-based scenarios. Except for the Zombie mode and Wave mode, each mode can support a maximum of 16 players, each divided into an 8-man team.Players progress and eventually be promoted through various Military Ranks, beginning at trainee, with the highest being Marshall. Players can also customize their character's equipment and appearance through in-game items.
CrossFire has a free currency which is called Game Points, which is earned through playing and completing matches, buying premium items that grant bonus GP, or fulfilling certain missions. Premium and special items like modified weapons can only be bought using monetary currencies. The content tends to vary from version to version.
Modes
CrossFire features several game modes, each with unique maps and rules.; Team Deathmatch
; Search & Destroy
; Free for All
; Elimination
; Suppression Mode
; Ghost Mode
; Shadow Mode
; Mutation Mode
; Escape Mode
; Hero Mode
; Hero Mode X
; Zombie Mode
; Elite/Bounty Mode
; Wave Mode
; King Mode
; Sheep Mode
; Big Head
Weapons
CrossFire features weapons based on real-life models, with each weapon belonging to a category. Categories include machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, etc. Each category is functionally similar to their real world counterparts Weapons often have many variations, including different skins which give them different attributes. In addition, the re-skinned versions are often more rare. There are also some weapons which are different from other weapons like the VIP weapons, which have better functions like faster reload, among others. Certain modes have mode-exclusive weapons.Characters
Characters are the avatar of players and are what they will look like while playing in the game. A note is that while all characters are visually unique from each other, they are all functionally the same with no real advantages or disadvantages from each other in terms of stats, apart from a few limited-edition characters who are, for example; able to see better through smoke or reduce the visual incapacitating effects of flash bang grenades.The characters featured in CrossFire are a combination of both real and fictional Special Forces groups. The real groups featured are: The Russian OMON, the LAPD SWAT, the British SAS, the Brazilian BOPE, the German GSG 9, the Korean 707th Special Mission Group, the United Nations Special Forces, and the American Navy SEALs. Each character also has both a Black List and Global Risk variant. Some characters are bought with GP, while some are bought with premium currency. There are special characters found in some modes like the knight.
There are also mutant characters for the Mutation/Hero modes, which unlike regular game characters, each have unique abilities.
Regional availability
| Region | Publisher | Release date | Closure date | Status | Notes |
| South Korea | Smilegate | May 3, 2007 December 12, 2013 | July 11, 2012 March 3, 2020 | — | |
| Japan | Playgra | February 23, 2008 | March 31, 2018 | — | |
| Vietnam | VTC Online | March 18, 2008 | — | — | |
| China | Tencent | April 28, 2008 | — | — | |
| West | Smilegate West | January 30, 2009 | — | Merger of the North America, Europe and Latin America servers | |
| Philippines | Smilegate | September 17, 2009 | — | — | |
| Indonesia | Lyto | December 8, 2009 | — | — | |
| Russia | Mail.Ru | June 2, 2010 | — | — | |
| Taiwan | Macrowell OMG | March 24, 2011 | March 23, 2014 | — | |
| Europe | Smilegate West | August 31, 2011 | November 7, 2018 | — | |
| Brazil | Smilegate West | November 29, 2011 | — | — | |
| South East Asia | Gambooz | September 12, 2013 | March 17, 2015 | — | |
| Latin America | Smilegate West | January 28, 2014 | March 18, 2020 | — | |
| Iran | Ariogames | March 16, 2019 | May 7, 2019 | Closed due to the US sanctions imposed on Iran |
Commercial performance
CrossFire is the most played online FPS game worldwide, with over 8 million concurrent users and 650 million registered players by 2017, according to developer Smilegate, with the majority of players in Asia, especially China and South Korea. The game had 660million players worldwide by 2018, and has reached a lifetime total of users in 80 countries as of 2020.In 2013, the game was one of the three most popular video games in China, with a revenue of almost $1 billion. It was the world's top-grossing game of 2014 at . By 2015, CrossFire had grossed, making it one of the top five highest-grossing video games of all time, along with Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Street Fighter II and World of Warcraft. CrossFire grossed in 2016 and in 2017, making it one of the three top-grossing PC games for both years, along with League of Legends and Dungeon Fighter Online. In 2018, CrossFire grossed, making it one of the year's five top-grossing video games, along with Fortnite, DFO, League of Legends and Pokémon Go. In total, CrossFire has grossed in lifetime revenue, as of 2018.
Film adaptation
In October 2015, it was announced that Neal Moritz would be producing a film version of CrossFire, after spending a year weighing up proposals from Hollywood producers and studios.In February 2020, it was announced that Sony Pictures will be developing the film adaptation,
Tencent Pictures will co-produce and co-finance and Mortiz will produce through his Original Film banner.