OnRPG Shotgun news 12/5: End of Nations, NCSoft, Path of Exile, and Much More!
By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist
End of Nations Developer Announces Layoffs
Just a week after news broke that the beta for End of Nations has been postponed indefinitely and refunds were issued for those who pre purchased the game Petroglyph has announced 30 layoffs. Game Designer Adam Stevens broke the news on twitter saying, “Layoffs at Petroglyph. Looking like I’ll be Leaving Las Vegas.” But recently on the forums fans have been repeatedly assured that the title has not been cancelled.
Layoffs Reported as NCSoft Realigns
Less than a week after the closure of super hero MMO City of Heroes it has been revealed by an anonymous source to PC Gamer that NCSoft Seattle has been hit with layoffs. Confirmation was later made by the public relations director at NCSoft Seattle, Lincoln Davis though he would not confirm exactly how many jobs were lost. This all comes as part of a big realignment in NCSoft.
The War Z Enters Beta
The popular zombie apocalypse MMO The War Z has officially entered beta! With the transition comes 50% more map! That’s right the rest of the first map, Colorado, has been made available to the more than 500,000 players. New marketplace items have also been added along with new player characters.
Korea Times Addresses City of Heroes Closure
Korea Times, one of three English language newspapers in Korea has published an article which features an interview with author Mercedes Lackey, a representative of the #SaveCoH campaign. Most noteable in the article was a comment from NCSoft Korea spokesman Kim Yo-han which said that the closure was a “strategic decision” and added that “nothing had been decided on selling the game or other actions afterwards.” You can read the full article for yourself by going to the Korea Times website here. http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2012/12/602_126197.html
Wurm Online Announces Launch Date
Even though Wurm Online has been around for some time now it has only recently been announced that it would be launching on December 12. With the launch comes 1.0, a patch that will bring character customization, visable armor, and multi story buildings.
Path of Exile Open Beta Announced
Since entering closed beta in August of 2011 fans of Path of Exile have wondered when open beta would start. It has now been announced that day will be January 23, 2013. It will involve one last character wipe and the deployment of patch 0.10.0.
League of Legends Bans Professional Player
To help address abuse in League of Legends Riot Games has announced that they have banned Pro Gamer Christian Rivera, aka IWillDominate for in-game harassment, verbal abuse, offensive language and a negative attitude. Several developers and specialists have formed a special Tribunal to look at cases of unsportsman like behavior and IWillDominate may be only the first of many more cases to come. This sudden change coincides with the massive League of Legends update bringing in new masteries, huge balance changes, and item reworks across the board.
