Online game publishing companies Nexon and CJ Entertainment and Media agreed Tuesday to jointly publish the popular Sudden Attack from July 11.

People will be able to access the free-to-play first person shooter game on both CJ E&M’s Netmarble and Nexon’s platforms until July 10, 2013, officials at Nexon said.

The agreement was signed after debate was sparked on May 30 when CJ E&M began publicizing details of its contract with game developer GameHi.

The controversy escalated until the chief executive of Netmarble, the global online gaming platform of CJ E&M, stepped down to take responsibility. Since then, CJ E&M has openly suggested that GameHi restart negotiations with its new management, and Nexon, which acquired GameHi, stepped in to go forward with talks.

Sudden Attack is an online game designed by GameHi in 2004 and serviced by Netmarble since 2005. It is the most popular online first-person shooter game in Korea, having secured the top spot for 106 consecutive weeks with a subscription base of 18 million people.

“After Nexon took over as the negotiating head, the talks have been gathering pace for the two companies to minimize user inconveniences,” said Nexon CEO Suh Min.

“We will give our utmost efforts to pay back the users for causing concerns in the past.”

Industry insiders say both sides are likely to benefit from the joint publishing agreement.

Netmarble will maintain its strong lineup of online games by acquiring the right to publish Sudden Attack for two more years, and Nexon has gained the right to also publish the well-known game here.

GameHi has possibly opened the opportunity to take the game overseas with Nexon’s network abroad. Sudden Attack is currently being serviced in Japan and it is also preparing to launch in the Chinese market in July, according to a Nexon official.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)