Tough Times: Petroglyph And NCSoft Layoff Staff

Bleak news. Eurogamer is reporting that End of Nations developers Petroglyph are letting around 30 employees go. Their reported rumour was confirmed on Twitter, when writer and game designer Adam Stevens confirmed he's one of those who'll be losing a job over the holidays, posting: "Well, it appears this winter break will be extended indefinitely." And is response to an inquiry he confirmed: "Lay-offs at Petroglyph. Looking like I'll be Leaving Las Vegas."

Meanwhile PC Gamer are reporting that NCSoft Seattle are losing an undisclosed number of staff in a 'realignment'.

This time of year must be a horrible period to lose a job, so my sympathies are completely with the staff affected. The Petroglyph's troubles were subtly signaled a week ago when the open beta to their free-to-play MMORTS, End of Nations, was indefinitely postponed. Though publisher Trion aren't saying it'll be cancelled, they are in the process of refunding people who paid for special editions of the game. It's expected it will eventually see the light of day sometime in 2013.

NCSoft's layoffs are surprising, given the rude health of recently released Guild Wars 2. But despite the impressive launch, the gargantuan Korean publisher suffered a $6 million loss this year.