NCSoft West Lays Off 20% Of Its Workforce As Its CEO Leaves The Studio

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The last few months have been rough for the video game industry and the tech industry in general with thousands of employees being laid off as company’s try to cut costs. NCSoft West is the latest company to add to that growing number as the western branch of the South Korean developer and publisher lays off 20% of its workforce.

“We can confirm that we laid off approximately 20% of NC West’s workforce today, primarily affecting non-game development positions, as part of a global realignment with our corporate headquarters in Korea,” said NCSoft West. “The affected employees have been given severance and access to resources to help with job placement.”

Its CEO Jeff Anderson will also be leaving after just two years as the company’s head honcho. “Jeff decided that his time at NC had come to a conclusion, and we appreciate his efforts with us,” the company announced.

While NCSoft as a whole had a fairly good year thanks to its mobile titles, the Lineage franchise, and Guild Wars 2’s extremely successful End of Dragons launch, the company’s western arm only accounted for 10% of its revenue as of the third quarter of FY 2022-2023. Revenue from Blade and Soul has also shrunk by nearly two-thirds over the past year and will probably shrink even more now that the team has slowed their update releases for the martial arts MMORPG.

The company, however, confirms that Throne and Liberty will still be launching this year as originally planned and hasn’t been affected by the downsizing. Our sympathies go out to those who were affected by the layoffs.