Nexon’s main western studio is no more, as the gaming giant closed down its Irvine location this week and canceled the projects that teams were working on there. GamesIndustry estimates that about 60 employees were stationed at Nexon OC in California, all of whom appear to be out of work as of yesterday
“We deeply appreciate the commitment and output of the OC team, however projects in development there no longer fit with our focus on core creative competencies,” Nexon said to VentureBeat. “All permanent employees impacted by this decision will receive severance and outplacement assistance.”
Other studios, such as InXile, stepped up to point developers toward possible job solutions.
Former Carbine and Blizzard developer Stephan Frost confirmed the closure from the front lines. Frost joined Nexon OC in autumn 2017 to work on an unannounced PC game.
Welp, 2020 continues to be the worst year ever, as I got word our studio will be shutting down. Onto the next adventure.
— Frost (@StephanFrost) July 16, 2020
Really sad to hear this, my brother @murtcurf has been working as Art Director at Nexon OC since leaving Blizzard. If you're hiring, please hit him up for referrals. Lots of talented people from all disciplines will be looking for work. https://t.co/jjszkiaxwz
— Mike Metcalf (@mikemetcalf) July 17, 2020
MMO fans will remember that Nexon has had a rough couple of years, with game cancelations, corporate struggles, dropped stock value, revenue dips, merges, canceled contracts, and worst of all, multiple waves of layoffs, in particular in the west, leading to a union uprising in Korea. And the troubles didn’t end in 2019: MapleStory 2, for example, closed down in the west less than two months ago.
As always, our sympathies extend to the rank-and-file devs affected.
