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Layoffs Hit Wildstar Developer Carbine Studios
Carbine Studios, the developer behind NCSoft’s Windstar MMO, has suffered a number of layoffs. The publisher confirmed the news to Game Informer this afternoon.
NCSoft says that the move reorganizes in the wake of canceling the MMO for the Chinese market. This also reflects the transition of Wildstar to a “live title” rather than one in development.
Earlier this morning, Carbine Studios completed a reorganization of its operating structure. Moving forward, the studio will focus on operating and updating WildStar as a live game in the US and Europe. As part of this change, the studio has canceled its plans to bring WildStar to China.
Unfortunately, as a result of these changes, we’ve had to reduce staff. These cuts are directly tied to WildStar’s evolution from a product in development to a live title, to the cancelation of work to bring WildStar to China, and to the overall performance of WildStar since launch in 2014.
These kinds of decisions are exceptionally difficult. The talented and passionate professionals who are impacted by these cuts have been valuable team members and respected colleagues. We wish everyone well for the future and will be providing severance and employment search assistance.
As for WildStar, we remain committed to the game. Over the next few weeks and months we will deliver a significant update to the game, kick off a variety of community events, and continue our work on new content that we will talk more about in the near future.
Wildstar began its life as a subscription MMO, however like many in that category it made a transition. The game became free-to-play in September 2015.
For more on Wildstar, you can check out our previous coverage.
Our Take
NCSoft made a big push to revitalize Wildstar when it became free-to-play, however it clearly wasn’t enough. Our thoughts are with those affected by these layoffs.
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