NCsoft Loses Key US Developers
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
South Korean computer games giant NCsoft has been firing on all cylinders in 2009, with its newest hit title, ``Aion,'' and other fantasy role-playing games garnering growing audiences around the world.
However, the recent profit bump is masking concerns over whether the company is losing its ability to retain top-end creative talent, points that were reinstated upon the recent departure of two key U.S. executives.
NCsoft West, the company's North American and European unit, said that its former president of product development, Jeff Strain, and president of publishing, David Reid, have both parted with the company on ``amicable'' terms.
Company officials in Seoul declined to elaborate whether the two executives were cut or chose to walk away themselves. The departure came at a critical time for Ncsoft, which is looking to launch Aion in both the U.S. and Europe in late September.
``Strain and Reid leaving the company will have no effect on our business strategies for Aion in the U.S. and European markets. The development of Guild War II will also advance as planned, as we still have two co-developers of the game other than Strain to push things ahead,'' an NCsoft official said.
``All we can say is that Strain and Reid both had personal matters that made it difficult for them to continue to work with us. They are top developers, and it is regrettable for us that they are leaving, but we are confident that we have enough talent to more than make up for the loss,'' the official said.
Since establishing the Seattle-based NCsoft West last year to combine its North American and European units, the company has been pushing an aggressive corporate restructuring program to inject new energy into its non-Asian business.
Despite the slew of changes, the departures of Strain and Reid still come as a surprise.
Strain is perhaps best known as the co-founder of ArenaNet, the creator of Guild Wars, which is now one of NCsoft's massively popular multiplayer online role-playing games. NCsoft purchased ArenaNet in 2003.
Strain began garnering his reputation as a top developer with Blizzard Entertainment, where he was involved in the development of globally popular titles such as ``Diablo II'' and ``WarCraft III.''
Reid, formerly with Microsoft, joined NCsoft West last year.
Strain is highest-profile employee to leave NCsoft since Richard Garriott, the multimillionaire game developer and recent space tourist, who is now suing his former employer for fraud to the tune of $24 million.
Garriott's departure from NCsoft was seen as inevitable, as the company has never been pleased with his work ethic. The company was quick to pull the Garriott-created ``Tablua Rasa'' off its servers once it became apparent that the game would never live up to its pre-launch hype, despite having invested 7 years and 100 billion won (about $80 million) into creating it.
However, Strain, unlike Garriott, had been seen by most as an asset to the company, considering that he had been leading the company's efforts to create a Guild Wars sequel.
``A company as big as NCsoft shouldn't be affected by the departure of a developer or two. And it seems like the company has been evaluating foreign developers more cautiously since all the trouble with Garriott,'' said an industry watcher.
``However, the roles of Strain and Reid were significant, and their departure will be more visible. There will be changes either for the better or for the worse.''