Jeff Strain, the driving force behind Guild Wars and Co-Founder of ArenaNet, has left NCsoft West. He had, since NCsoft’s North American reorganization last year, served as the President of Product Development for NCsoft West and was considered by many to be the primary creative mind at the company.

Also departing is their President of Publishing David Reid.

NCsoft West Public Relations Director Ryan James responded to MMORPG.com’s inquiries with two statements. First, regarding Strain:

“With a successful history creating MMORPG games, NCsoft has made an indelible mark on the games industry. Last year, the South Korea-based NCsoft created a division to follow a vision of bringing AAA MMOs to the West called NCsoft West. This organization was formed as part of NCsoft’s ongoing vision to be the premier global MMO publisher in the world. With that vision, change in a growth industry is inevitable. NCsoft West announces the departure of Jeff Strain, President of Product Development, who has chosen to leave NCsoft under amicable terms and NCsoft wishes him the best in his new endeavor. This does not change our plans or negatively impact our upcoming launch of Aion, and NCsoft remains very excited about the game’s launch on September 22nd in the U.S. and September 25th in Europe. These changes do not influence any other teams, development schedules or other launches.”

Then, regarding Reid’s departure:

“In an unrelated and separate event, David Reid is no longer with the company. David joined NCsoft in early 2008 as vice president of marketing and helped in the formation of NCsoft West and the relocation of our headquarters to Seattle. David brought passion and talent to our organization, and he will be missed.”

Prior to Co-Founding ArenaNet and launching Guild Wars, Strain was the Lead Programmer for Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. At the Irvine developer, he also contributed to Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft III.

Reid had previously lead marketing efforts for Microsoft’s launch of the Xbox 360 and GameTap, an online game portal.

The moves come with just over a month left until the North American launch of Aion, which could be very important for the company’s Western operations after a string of high profile setbacks that included Auto Assault, Tabula Rasa, the departure of the Garriott brothers, and shuttering the bulk of their former North American headquarters in Austin, TX. Aion is due to launch on September 22nd, 2009. It also remains to be seen what, if any, impact this will have on the eagerly anticipated Guild Wars 2.

Whoa... two big names behind GW... gone from the house.

I thought they were more envolved with GW2 than with Aion though.

David Reid has quite a track-record. Impressed. Wonder what he does next? 

well there goes GW2...was wondering why there have been no updates on its development the past 6 months. I love GW...and was looking forward to it.  But with both co-founders gone....I dont see GW2 coming out now

Originally posted by bjgladitsch

But with both co-founders gone....I dont see GW2 coming out now

David Reid is not co-founder of ArenaNet

Any other co-founder than Jeff Strain leaving or left ?

So I wonder, what's really going on.

Originally posted by bjgladitsch

well there goes GW2...was wondering why there have been no updates on its development the past 6 months. I love GW...and was looking forward to it.  But with both co-founders gone....I dont see GW2 coming out now

As they said...this will have no impact on development...

and the reason why we haven't heard anything regarding Guild Wars 2 is because NCsoft doesn't want it to steal Aion's thunder. The game exists and is in a playable state (according to the devs).

Originally posted by Lydon

Originally posted by bjgladitsch

well there goes GW2...was wondering why there have been no updates on its development the past 6 months. I love GW...and was looking forward to it.  But with both co-founders gone....I dont see GW2 coming out now

As they said...this will have no impact on development...

and the reason why we haven't heard anything regarding Guild Wars 2 is because NCsoft doesn't want it to steal Aion's thunder. The game exists and is in a playable state (according to the devs).

I would disagree. Strain drove that game and made it what it is...a major hit.

I now doubt anything NCSoft does seeing that Aion is their flagship product, as that game is just one major disappiontment.

As to GW2, it will probably become another Tabula Rasa.

Originally posted by openedge1

I would disagree. Strain drove that game and made it what it is...a major hit.

I now doubt anything NCSoft does seeing that Aion is their flagship product, as that game is just one major disappiontment.

As to GW2, it will probably become another Tabula Rasa.

I beg to differ. For one, they don't have an idiot developing Guild Wars 2. Secondly, Jeff is not Guild Wars. He was a huge part of it, but they've got an extremely talented team and goals that aren't going to crumble down in his absence. Thirdly, Guild Wars is now an established game and as such ArenaNet have a lot to work with. Tabula Rasa, on the other hand, was a bad first attempt (though I personally enjoyed it). Add to that the fact that we don't know who the current driving force may be and what their goals are, and this may even be a good thing. I doubt anyone could be worse than ol' Richard.

You simply can't compare a game whose sequel has sold over 6 million copies with a game that practically tanked from the start.

The only quote they make is that it will Not impact AION, nothing about guild wars 2. 

With this, I would not be suprised if guild wars 2 just got shot in the foot, or is basically starting over from scratch now. Does not bode well at all.

Originally posted by Swanea

The only quote they make is that it will Not impact AION, nothing about guild wars 2. 

With this, I would not be suprised if guild wars 2 just got shot in the foot, or is basically starting over from scratch now. Does not bode well at all.

"This does not change our plans or negatively impact our upcoming launch of Aion, and NCsoft remains very excited about the game’s launch on September 22nd in the U.S. and September 25th in Europe. These changes do not influence any other teams, development schedules or other launches.”

Originally posted by Lydon

Originally posted by Swanea

The only quote they make is that it will Not impact AION, nothing about guild wars 2. 

With this, I would not be suprised if guild wars 2 just got shot in the foot, or is basically starting over from scratch now. Does not bode well at all.

"This does not change our plans or negatively impact our upcoming launch of Aion, and NCsoft remains very excited about the game’s launch on September 22nd in the U.S. and September 25th in Europe. These changes do not influence any other teams, development schedules or other launches.”

 

And what exactly do you expect them to say?  Like the poster said above they are going to say nothing except to push Aion right now.  Trying to imply this won't effect GW2 is just silly, of course it will.  How can it not?

To get rid of a guy like Jeff Strain is dumb and idiotic. Ok so maybe they had a disagreement in something but that doesn't mean you go to extremes with a guy who is super talented and has done an excellnt job with Guild Wars. NCsoft only cares about NCsoft and Aion now. They can care less about Guild Wars 2 or anything else that might get in the way of their quarterly reports. If the existing Arenanet guys are smart they will leave NCsoft, form their own company and get a publisher that does right by them.

Won't affect Aion, but will affect any genuine game developed stateside by NCSoft.  Guild Wars 2 will probably suffer, but you can bet whatever these guys do if it involves gaming will be pretty sick.  I love to see them free of any chains NCSoft had on them.  These guys should be working freely.

Originally posted by Ozmodan 

And what exactly do you expect them to say?  Like the poster said above they are going to say nothing except to push Aion right now.  Trying to imply this won't effect GW2 is just silly, of course it will.  How can it not?

Eh...let's see...maybe say nothing? Why would they bring it up in the first place if it wasn't true?

Honestly people...none of us know what the inner workings of ArenaNet or NCsoft are, so all we have to go by is what they tell us, which is what I intend to do.

It's a common phenomenon. Around election time everyone becomes a political expert. When an MMO company makes an announcement, everyone because an expert regarding the companies in question.

he just probably didnt like his position ;)
anyways, you got to wonder whats really going on with ANET and GW2

no information abt GW2 or announce about next content update doesnt really help
its been awfully quiet lately

GW2 was under the direction of Mike O'Brien while Jeff Strain was the President of NCSoft.The way they put things looks like Strain left NCSoft not ArenaNet.If Wyatt,OBrien and Strain are still the backbone of ArenaNet then we have nothing to fear even if that news sound like somekind of whistleblower.

Mike O'Brien reply on the Wiki, and i belive its being posted on some forums as well

Jeff's departure

Hi all,
I wanted to take a moment to offer my personal note on Jeff's departure.
Jeff is a personal friend of mine. We worked together very closely from the time he joined Blizzard in 1996, through our founding of ArenaNet in 2000, until he left ArenaNet to join NCsoft West in 2008. I'm sad to see him leaving NCsoft now. We remain good friends and I wish him great success in his next endeavor.
It's important to understand that ArenaNet is a separate and self-contained development studio. Jeff hasn't been involved in the day-to-day development of Guild Wars 2 since he left ArenaNet more than a year ago, and I don't expect his departure to have a direct impact on our studio or on Guild Wars 2. I continue to lead ArenaNet, and I'm not going anywhere.
We have an amazing team here at ArenaNet, and we continue to work hard on Guild Wars 2, preparing for the day when we can first reveal it to the world. That day is coming very soon now. I'm confident that, when you see Guild Wars 2 for the first time, you're going to love what you see, and any worries you have about its development will fade away.
--Mike O'Brien 01:56, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

with that reply, i am more confident now that everything is well with GW2

reply is moot after last post.

Originally posted by illyana

Mike O'Brien reply on the Wiki, and i belive its being posted on some forums as well

 

Jeff's departure

Hi all,
I wanted to take a moment to offer my personal note on Jeff's departure.
Jeff is a personal friend of mine. We worked together very closely from the time he joined Blizzard in 1996, through our founding of ArenaNet in 2000, until he left ArenaNet to join NCsoft West in 2008. I'm sad to see him leaving NCsoft now. We remain good friends and I wish him great success in his next endeavor.
It's important to understand that ArenaNet is a separate and self-contained development studio. Jeff hasn't been involved in the day-to-day development of Guild Wars 2 since he left ArenaNet more than a year ago, and I don't expect his departure to have a direct impact on our studio or on Guild Wars 2. I continue to lead ArenaNet, and I'm not going anywhere.
We have an amazing team here at ArenaNet, and we continue to work hard on Guild Wars 2, preparing for the day when we can first reveal it to the world. That day is coming very soon now. I'm confident that, when you see Guild Wars 2 for the first time, you're going to love what you see, and any worries you have about its development will fade away.
--Mike O'Brien 01:56, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

 

with that reply, i am more confident now that everything is well with GW2

Thank you. This is much better than "the company" Issuing a blanket statement from the OP.  That often happens and almost no information can be gleaned from it.  This helps a lot.

But, le sigh. I want GW2 :(. Stupid Aion.