NCsoft West CEO departs amidst staff layoffs

NCsoft West has reportedly laid off 20 percent of its staff, and CEO Jeff Anderson has also left the developer. The layoffs come ahead of the Guild Wars 2 developer's financial report for its fourth quarter. 

Speaking to VentureBeat, an NCsoft representative explained that the layoffs were "part of a global realignment with our corporate headquarters in Korea. The affected employees have been given severance and access to resources to help with job placement.”

The positions eliminated were claimed to mostly affect non-game development departments, though some developers were caught in the crossfire.

Anderson joined NCsoft West in 2021, and he oversaw the Korean developer's business in the Americas, Oceania, and EMEA. The western subsidiary is specifically responsible for the console version of the Blade & Soul MMO in those regions, along with Guild Wars and Lineage 2. 

Regarding Anderson, that same representative stated that he "decided that his time at NC had come to a conclusion, and we appreciate his efforts with us.”

Speaking to Massively OP, another NCsoft spokesperson alleged that NCsoft West's recent layoffs and the loss of its CEO wouldn't affect the global launch of its 2023 MMO, Throne & Liberty. 

Similarly, they said that all of the presently existing NCsoft MMOs would "continue to operate without interruption.”