NCsoft cancels Spacetime Studios MMO deal

American independent Spacetime has confirmed it has had to make 12 employees redundant following a cancelled contract with NCsoft for a new MMO title.

In a blog post on the studio’s official site, founder Gary Gattis said: "Our project has been cancelled by the current publisher. Regardless of how you look at it, we won’t be entering production in the immediate future, so we are retrenching and unfortunately had to let 12 folks go. […] All 12 employees released were given extended benefits, severance and will be supplied letters of recommendation. These were good folks and we are not happy about it."

Online tools and engine for the new game were already complete, he added, saying that "once all mutual obligations have been completed between the publisher and ourselves we intend to explore every possible avenue to see that our team’s collective vision come to fruition".

He added: "We want to stress that there are no bad feelings with NCSoft. There is a tremendous amount of mutual respect between our companies. They have conducted themselves with honor and integrity, and we would work with them again in an instant.

"We are still here, stable and strong, and running a little bit lighter while we figure out our next move."