As the company continues to grow its live products and prepares its next set of major online game releases for later in 2006 and 2007, the company sees a slowdown in its launch pattern and the need to streamline its business." Says one NCsoft spokesman. To streamline the business NCsoft has laid off 70 employees from the Austin-based organization this week. The company called this move "an immediate restructuring...that included the difficult task of reducing members of its workforce."

Late yesterday, word circulated online that massively multiplayer online game publisher NCsoft had undergone a significant round of layoffs. This morning, the publisher acknowledged that pink slips were, in fact, handed out at the Austin-based organization this week.

The company said approximately 70 of its 300 employees had been terminated.

In a statement, the company called the move, which affects NCsoft?s Austin operation only, "an immediate restructuring ...that included the difficult task of reducing members of its workforce."

A spokesperson told GameSpot that none of the publisher?s development teams have been affected by the move, noting that the Tabula Rasa team is still in hiring mode.

From Gamespot