WOW Ex Employees Start Thier Own Studio : World of Warcraft General Discussions

Red 5 Studios, an online video-game developer led by members of the team behind the wildly popular "World of Warcraft" game, said on Monday it has raised $18.5 million in venture capital.

The funding from Benchmark Capital and Sierra Ventures comes as a rise in high-speed Internet usage in the United States and elsewhere fuels interest in online gaming -- the standard mode of play in many Asian countries.

"World of Warcraft" from Vivendi's Blizzard Entertainment provides an online world in which thousands of players compete simultaneously. Revenue comes from game sales of about $20 per unit, subscription fees of some $15 per month, and downloads of add-on content.