barks
06-06-2005, 11:45 AM
What we heard: An ever-increasing number of sites--including QuartertoThree.com and MMhell.com--are citing the post on Grimwell, which flatly states that "NCSoft just stole a team of developers from Blizzard in Irvine, CA." According to the site, NCsoft has been wooing away Blizzard designers working on the first World of Warcraft expansion. To make jumping ship more attractive, the company has reportedly opened a new office in Irvine, so potential defectors won't have to relocate to NCsoft's US headquarters in Austin, Texas. As evidence of the defections, the conspiracy-minded point to the massive number of new job openings listed on Blizzard's own Web site--positions allegedly vacated by recently departed employees. But while Blizzard did not respond to GameSpot's requests for comment, NCsoft confirmed its digs in Blizzard's backyard. "NCsoft has opened an office in Orange County and we have a development team there working on an unannounced project," said a rep for the company. (The rep would give no further details on the new game, as it is "a long ways off.") However, a source close to NCsoft told GameSpot that the publisher had indeed lured a passel of Blizzard developers away "a long time ago." "It's not even new news, really," said the source, who declined to say how many designers had switched employers. However, seeing how internal NCsoft studio ArenaNet was founded by a group of former Blizzard-ians--the creators of Battle.net, no less--it would come as little surprise if more WOW developers had signed up with the rising publisher.
Bogus or not bogus?: Some Blizzard developers have joined NCsoft? Not bogus. But droves? That's not so certain.
Bogus or not bogus?: Some Blizzard developers have joined NCsoft? Not bogus. But droves? That's not so certain.