Some NCsoft Austin layoffs confirmed

by Christopher Grant { Aug 13th 2008 at 4:07PM }

[Update: NCsoft has confirmed 21 layoffs, saying the cuts are coming from "positions on the Dungeon Runners team after deciding not to port the client to other platforms at this time" and "products which we have not previously announced and were in prototype phases." The number is much smaller than previously rumored numbers, lending context to earlier responses that the rumors were "pretty outrageous."]

Just a few short days after rumors that NCsoft would be cutting jobs at its Austin, TX location first bubbled to the surface – rumors that NCsoft told Edge were "just crazy" and "pretty outrageous" – comes word of several high-profile layoffs. Massively reports that April 'CuppaJo' Burba – an associate producer on Dungeon Runners and a popular community member – and Scott Jennings (aka Lum The Mad) – a project lead on an as-yet-unannounced MMO being developed in Austin – have both been laid off. Jennings also writes on his blog that his entire "team was let go as part of 'refocusing'" though he doesn't specify if the MMO they were all working on has been canceled or not.

There's no word yet on the fate of Tabula Rasa – rumored to be moved from Austin to Seattle, and placed under ArenaNet's watchful gaze – or of the sorta-recently acquired City of Heroes/Villains, but you know the drill: we'll let you know when we know.

Tags: BreakingNews, layoffs, NCsoft, NCsoft-Austin, NCsoft-North-America, NCsoftr