NCsoft clarifies Austin cuts rumours

NCsoft has released an official statement on the job losses set to hit its Austin studio, following rumours circulating yesterday that the entire office was to be shut down.

Instead just 21 positions are to be cut, spanning products which were in the prototype phase only, and the Dungeon Runners team will also face some losses following the decision not to bring the game to other platforms.

"We are announcing that 21 positions are being eliminated in the Austin office of NCsoft in the area of product development," the statement read. "Primarily this is related to products which we have not previously announced and were in prototype phases. We are also cutting some positions on the Dungeon Runners team after deciding not to port the client to other platforms at this time."

NCsoft yesterday announced its Q2 2008 financial results, with an 8 per cent rise in sales but a 42 per cent fall in net income. The Austin-developed Tabula Rasa title was the weakest-performing of the company's games, taking just USD 1.9 million in revenues.