For the SF-MMO WildStar things are getting serious. The release in China has been canceled, and there have been layoffs. Reportedly, 40% of the workforce has been let go.
In the WildStar forum, there is a statement from NCSoft. This is the publisher and financial backer behind the development studio Carbine. They will now focus on Europe and the USA for WildStar. NCSoft has canceled the plans to release WildStar in China,.
Therefore, NCSoft has decided to reduce staff at the WildStar developer Carbine. This is due to canceling the China launch, the fact that it is no longer a title in development, but a live title, and how WildStar has performed in recent years since 2014.
Such decisions are never easy, and we wish all those affected by the layoffs the best, will pay them severance, and help them find new jobs.
NCSoft still stands behind the game. In the coming weeks and months, WildStar will receive an important update. The team will launch a series of events and will talk about future game content. The announcement in the WildStar forum came from Omeed Dariani, the Director of Community and Social at NCSoft. His face has recently been seen frequently in the livestreams for Blade and Soul, an own title from NCSoft.
Allegedly 40% of the studio laid off – WildStar facing closure
The US magazine Polygon has spoken with sources close to the studio who wish to remain anonymous. According to them, NCSoft has laid off over 70 employees. That is about 40% of the workforce. Furthermore, the sources say that the remaining staff only has a few months left before WildStar is finally shelved.
The former community manager of Carbine, Tony Rey, tweeted from his personal account: This is devastating. So many talented people were underpaid and undervalued. And now they are unemployed.
Wow, the number of people laid off is past 70. This is devastating. So much talent that was underpaid and under appreciated now jobless.
— Tony Rey (@tonyrey) March 11, 2016
WildStar had launched successfully. However, the numbers after the launch were soon relatively poor and continued to worsen in the months that followed. This was evident from NCSoft’s quarterly financial reports. Apparently, too few players were willing to subscribe to the SF-MMO.
A relatively late switch to a free-to-play model did not bring the hoped-for turnaround. The next moments of hope for WildStar would likely have been the now-canceled China release and a move to Steam.
