Throne & Liberty Developer NCSoft Announces Layoffs Amid Restructure

As a die-hard fan who has spent countless hours immersed in the captivating world of Throne & Liberty, it’s disheartening to hear about the layoffs at NCSoft. I can only imagine the dedication and passion that each team member put into creating this game we all love.

NCSoft, creators of the widely played game Throne & Liberty, have unveiled plans for a significant corporate overhaul, which is expected to result in job cuts throughout their organization.

The news was first reported by Korean outlet Yonhap.

Based on the information provided by the company, the reason behind the organizational restructure and job reductions is due to a significant drop in quarterly profits. Specifically, operating profit decreased by 75% compared to the same period last year (Q2 2024). Furthermore, the operating profit also dipped by 66% between Q1 and Q2 of this year.

In an all-company email, NCSoft’s joint CEOs, Kim Taek-jin and Park Byung-moo, expressed that they have explored multiple options to address the present predicament and delved deeply into them, yet they found it challenging to resolve it using only methods that alleviate symptoms.

They went on to explain: “Since the majority of our workforce and responsibilities are centralized at our headquarters, our financial performance has been declining and we risk becoming a perpetually deficit company.” Furthermore, they noted that this setup “significantly weakens NC’s initial innovative mindset and spirit of adventure.

Ever since its debut in September, Throne & Liberty, the free-to-play MMO, has consistently ranked among the top five most concurrently played games on Steam. It typically boasts around 150,000 active players at any given moment, and frequently reaches a peak of 200,000 players simultaneously.

Over the week that wrapped up on October 12, I found myself sitting pretty as the third most-played game on Steam, and a respectable 15th among weekly active users on Xbox.

Regarding the number of employees affected by the layoffs, this figure has been disclosed. We’ve contacted NCSoft for further details on exactly how many individuals will be let go in this instance. It’s important to note that this marks the second wave of job reductions at NCSoft in 2023.

Starting from 2024, it’s been reported that more than 13,200 positions have vanished in the gaming sector. However, the real figure is estimated to be approximately 16,000 when you factor in unannounced layoffs as well.

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