Flagship: we're not sinking

Hellgate: London developer Flagship Studios has countered comments made by one of its own staffers that suggested a mass exodus of employees from the studio.

Guy Somberg, a programmer at Flagship, said in a recent post on his personal blog that "People are leaving. In droves, they're leaving" the company.

But Flagship on Wednesday swatted away Somberg's comments, which circulated the Web this week.

"Everyone has good days and bad days. Guy was having a bad day. ... He vented, exaggerated, and posted information that was inaccurate," stated Flagship CVO David Brevik in a statement issued to Next Generation.

Brevik said that both Flagship's San Francisco and Seattle studios are fully staffed, with the former working on Hellgate content, and the latter working on the free-to-play MMORPG Mythos.

He said that over 100 employees currently work for both studios, and that Hellgate's team is as big now as when the game shipped.

Brevik added, "As is typical in the industry, after a game is released some people naturally want to work on something else and they leave the company to do so. But in total we have had less than 10 percent turn-over and have rehired for all needed positions."

Somberg's comments came months after the October 2007 release of Hellgate: London, a highly anticipated game that fizzled with critics and consumers when it launched.

Brevik said, "We will be the first to admit that Hellgate: London did launch with some problems. The game would certainly have benefited from a couple more months in the oven, but as an independent developer we didn't have the ability to delay our ship date.

"...The game is much better now and we believe in the future of Hellgate."

Courtesy of Next Generation.

Jun 12, 2008