NCsoft poaches Warcraft developers

Korean games publisher NCsoft has announced a new studio which will be staffed by key developers from competitor Blizzard's World of Warcraft team.

NCsoft publishes popular multiplayer online games, including Guild Wars, City of Heroes and Lineage.

Blizzard's World of Warcraft is by far the world's most popular such game.

NCsoft's new Carbine Studios division is staffed by several former Blizzard employees, including Kevin Beardslee who was a lead developer on World of Warcraft.

The team also includes key development staff who worked on the popular games, Fallout and Asheron's Call.

"This is a dev team made in heaven," said Robert Garriott, chief executive at NCsoft's North American business.

"This group is as experienced as they come in the area of computer role playing and multiplayer game design. Making successful games is second nature to them."

NCsoft claimed in a press statement that Carbine Studios is working on a new project that promises to "break new ground in massively multiplayer gaming".

"The gaming community should be excited to see what great things come out of Carbine Studios in the coming years," said Garriott.

Beardslee added: "NCSoft's established global infrastructure, commitment to its development studios and passion for online gaming makes it an ideal partner.

"Carbine Studios will continue to grow in the coming months and we look forward to bringing many more talented industry professionals into our fold."

In related news, developers announced yesterday that the full public launch of NCsoft's long-delayed Tabula Rasa will be postponed until early November while play balancing issues are resolved.