Jeff Strain leaves NCSoft

Given her post count, I'd say no.

I agree with Snow, there is no way you can make this look good.

All I'll say is that Richard Gariott left Tabula Rasa when it was in development and during release.

And look at it now.

(And also be weary of the public-letter-of-resignation-which-is-actually-a-veiled-PR-statement)

I didn't see anyone mention this but, uhm....

Jeff left NCWest. It never said he left Arena Net...

I think he's either separating himself from NCSoft business (so he can focus on Arena Net business), or this is the beginning of Arena Net leaving from NCSoft sponsorship...

Which means no delays due to other games made by NCSoft.

Which may be the surprise that Regina mentioned would occur at PAX?

Wishful thinking, I'm afraid. If that was the case, wouldn't they would have announced it?

I hope this is possible. Not sure ArenaNet has the resources or legal ability to pull away from NCSoft, they are essentially the same company.

Yes i agree i hope they do


I don't expect it to me, but i hope that it is real and its mind blowing

yeah , second me . But hey , the time will answer us.

GW trailer? Wut? Is it rumored to be at GamesCon next week?

Anyone even know if ArenaNet/NCSoft is attending? o.O

Assuming the choice of company words was for a reason.

The thing is, they only announced his leaving NCSoft, so he might not have left Arena Net. I am only bringing this up. I doubt they worded it so carefully to exclude Arena Net for no reason.

That's why I doubt the later, personally. Though it would be grand. It could also be they are going to a different parent company. Or merging with/buying another company which will give them the resources.

That could be true, but didn't he leave Anet to join NCsoft, so leaveing NCsoft means left completely?

What? NCSoft does not just sponsor or publish ANet's product; ANet is a wholly owned subsidiary of NCSoft. It's not a good sign for GW2 when one of the co-founders of the original franchise has left the project.

did Gariott leave before or after they closed tabula

i hope jeff remembers to cash in his stock options before 90days

If You Want Something, You Fight For It...

I Dont know what you guys are having a debate over. They Announced Guild Wars 2. Until they give the word its over, you shouldnt think anything otherwise, thats just stupid. Games cost a lot of money, and people in that kind of buisness dont give up like that, even if they are taking orders from a higher power.

As to Jeff departing, its sad to hear, but he was in a different section to ANet, which leads me to believe it wont affect anything but the said job ( I forgot what he does lol ) he left.

Something else that's interesting that no one is mentioning is

"Also departing is their President of Publishing David Reid."

The article claims its un-related, but the President of Publishing and the President of product development both leaving at the same time....?

One could interpret this to mean Anet may be making a move to publish Guild Wars themselves and leave NC-Soft, but that'd be a pretty big assumption. It's also possible both decided to move on to a company like Blizzard to help with all their upcoming titles, and who certainly pay better then NC-Soft ever could.

I say we keep making wild speculations until someone official comes here and clears it up.

No, he did not leave Arena Net to join NCSoft, but leaving NCSoft does not mean leaving Arena Net. While the two companies are close together, they are not the same.

It also never said Jeff left the Guild Wars project. Again, it just said he left NCWest. Not Anet, not Guild Wars, just NCWest.

Call me optimistic, but I'm just reading in-between the lines and that is my interpretation.

While I love the panic displayed here, and the insights that may or may not be sprinkled throughout (yes I'm guilty) I think it's obvious to us all that GW2 is being developed. They have what, 170+ employees? Really, what do you think they are doing with their time up there.

We have concept art, while not officially released it has won an award.
We have little finds all over about a possible gaming trailer
ArenaNet is being represented at GDC
They have a booth at PAX
Voice Actor's with GW2 on their resume
Talk from the devs about being on the guild wars 2 engine

You're right, most of this is not official. Clearly something is going on though. I'm sure Anet has more up their sleeve, they have no other titles to their name. While I'm sure some of us dream of sitting around an office doing nothing all day, ArenaNet with it's hundreds of employees is working on the development of Guild Wars 2. It is not vaporware. While there is speculation in this thread about GW2 and how Anet chooses to communicate with us and the inner-workings of NCSoft, try to temper that with the knowledge that the game is being developed.

While NCSoft might be subjected to the problems that many corporations are, ArenaNet is there and continuing to plug away. Despite what their parent company does.

Hopes Konig is right!!! ^^^ Linsey we're waiting please shed some information.

Games cost money? Yes they do. It costs a lot to publish a game. And this needs to be constantly reviewed for ROI (return on investment). Games get canceled all the time. NCSoft cancels games before they are done.

It may very well be being done right before your eyes. Given the most optimistic time frames, they may be at the 50% milestone in terms of investment vs initial returns. Given the economy and performance of the GW2 team they could very well decide to cut their losses.

Wouldn't be the 1st time this has happened.

Now no one knows yet why Jeff left. But if they had made an internal decision to cut GW2 out like a bad cancer, do you think Jeff would sit by and let it happen? Or would he make a statement by quiting before the announcement?

Nicely said Inde.

The best we can do is wait for more info. I know waiting sucks, but there it is.

Mildly concerned fangoil.

And it takes much longer than 2 years to develop a game. And if NCSoft was the reason for the hushing, than all the more reason for Anet to be trying to find a new parent company like I suggested as a possibility.