NCsoft reveals plans to work with European studios

NCsoft Europe's director of products, Thomas Bidaux, has revealed to GamesIndustry.biz that the company is set to broaden its portfolio by working with European development studios.

âNCsoft's ambition is to be a leading global online publisher. And we have achieved much of this ambition already, having published many of our games on every continent," Bidaux said.

"The next natural step for us is to have development driven from all regions of the world. We are aware of cultural differences, not only between East and West, but even between North America and Europe and we want to get the best of each."

"NCsoft Europe has been looking at the European development sector for some time now and discussions with certain studios are very nearly complete. We will be making an announcement very soon, possibly before E3."

In the past, NCsoft has worked only with development studios in North America and Korea. Bidaux's comments come after NCsoft announced a new deal with US developer Spacetime Studios to produce an MMORPG based on original intellectual property.

The studio, which is based in Austin, Texas, was recently established by a group of industry veterans who worked on franchises such as Privateer, Wing Commander and Star Wars Galaxies.

No announcement has been made as to the title of the MMORPG or what it will be based around - but in an official statement, Robert Garriott, CEO of NCsoft North America, hinted that the game will have a science fiction theme.

"[Spacetime] has a proven track record in creating games in the space genre," Garriott said.

"Theyâve also been successful in developing massively multiplayer games and we believe thatâs a winning combination and a perfect fit for the NCsoft lineup of products.â

NCsoft is already one of the world's leading publishers of online games, with previous successes including Lineage, Guild Wars Prophecies and City of Heroes. Guild Wars Factions, the first in a series of planned sequels, is due out this spring.