Wildstar Dev Suffers From Heavy Layoffs

Companies suffer layoffs all the time...

If I reported on every wave of firing a company in the games industry did, I’d be working for Gamasutra.  So generally, I only touch on stories like this if I feel a personal connection to it, or if I feel it’s a big indicator of what’s to come (see: Crytek Crysis).  This falls squarely in the former category, because I rather like NCSoft—they have a lot of charm, and Guild Wars 2 is the only MMORPG I actually really enjoy, so when I hear news like this—a surefire sign that things are going badly financially—it puts me on edge, a little bit.

It’s a fairly straightforward bit of news, when it comes down to it NCSoft, who has an employee pool of around 200, recently announced that its letting go of 60 employees “Across all levels”, meaning anyone from the new blood to the old seniors are at risk of being let go.  The only area of NCSoft that’s safe from the layoffs is the Guild Wars 2 team, ironically… but that means the Wildstar team, a game that was released four months ago, is getting cut in size from its original 100-man team.  No word on how many will be fired from Carbine Studios specifically, but I’m told the majority of the 60 were from that team.

NCSoft has released the following statement:

Today we announced a restructuring of key operations within NC West. As a result of this restructuring, we are implementing staff reductions across our Western operations with the exclusion of ArenaNet. While decisions like this are always hard, they are necessary as we begin the implementation of a new strategy designed to strengthen our footing as a leader in global entertainment.

Moving forward, we will continue to focus on our core development capabilities and the intellectual properties (WildStar, Aion, Lineage, and Guild Wars franchises) that have made NCSOFT what it is today. However, we are looking to move into new business segments like mobile and tablet games as well as explore emerging technologies.

Again, the decision to reduce staff was not an easy one, and we sincerely wish everyone well in their next endeavors.

Bad tides for NCSoft and Wildstar, that’s for sure.   It’s a little strange, considering NCSoft reported that Wildstar had “Impressive” sales during their August financial report, out-performing Guild Wars 2 at launch.  Perhaps the honeymoon was short lived—or some outside factor forced their hand?  It’s impossible to do anything but speculate, in my situation, so let’s just hope for the best for those let go, and wish them luck.