ArenaNet confirms next layoffs and Guild Wars game services will not be affected

By Colin Stevens

ArenaNet, the studio behind the Guild Wars franchise, will fire its employees following the cancellation of unannounced projects, though the game services for Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 are apparently unaffected.

IGN contacted ArenaNet for feedback and the company confirmed the layoffs, claiming that it was part of a larger organizational restructuring within NCSOFT, ArenaNet's parent company. ArenaNet sends IGN the following statement:

"We can confirm that due to the cancellation of non-advertised projects, ArenaNet will be downsizing as part of a broader organizational restructuring within NCSOFT in the future." West, but the Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 game services will not be affected, nor any future game content canceled. "

IGN also sought the advice of NCSOFT.

First reported by Kotaku, information on these layoffs has recently begun to circulate among employees, and it is still unclear how many of them will be fired, although this is supposed to be a significant number.

Songyee Yoon, CEO of NCSOFT West, reportedly e-mailed employees this afternoon, claiming that these actions were the result of lower revenues from his video game business due to aging franchises and development delays, while Western operating costs increased.

"Our current situation is not sustainable and will not prepare us for future success," wrote Yoon. "Restructuring, cost reduction and strategic realignments are underway to secure our future and to provide the foundation we need to grow and acquire."

ArenaNet spoke to employees at two meetings later in the day. Although much remains to be done, ArenaNet will award a two-month layoff to people who lose their jobs, as well as bonus hours based on their mandate to the company.

The latest version of ArenaNet was the Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire expansion, which entered stores in September 2017. In 2014, Carbine Studios, developer of WildStar and a subsidiary of NCSOFT, was fired and then disappeared in 2018.

Other layoffs in the industry have recently occurred, notably at Activision Blizzard, despite the record revenues recorded by the company. At the end of last year, Telltale Games was shut down, resulting in the loss of several jobs.

Colin Stevens is a news writer for IGN. Follow on Twitter.