Carbine Studios
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Former Blizzard Entertainment staff |
| Fate | Shut down |
| Products | WildStar |
| Parent | NCSoft |
Carbine Studios, Inc. was a video game developer operating as a subsidiary of NCSoft. Established in 2005 by former Blizzard Entertainment staff, the company is known for creating the online role-playing game WildStar.
History
Kevin Beardslee, who served as lead animator for World of Warcraft, departed Blizzard in 2005 along with nine colleagues due to dissatisfaction with limited bonuses despite the game's commercial success. Following its acquisition by NCSoft in 2007, Carbine augmented its team by adding seven additional ex-Blizzard professionals along with other experienced industry members.
In March 2016, NCSoft restructured Carbine Studios, resulting in layoffs affecting over 70 employees—approximately 40% of the workforce. Although development on WildStar persisted, plans for launching the game in China were discontinued.
By April 2017, Carbine advertised vacancies for a new, undisclosed project utilizing Unreal Engine, targeting applicants skilled in "AAA cooperative multiplayer" and action combat game design.
On September 6, 2018, NCSoft declared the immediate shutdown of Carbine Studios and announced the termination of support for WildStar.
Game
Carbine's only published title was WildStar, a science fantasy themed MMORPG. Despite an initially strong reception, the player community steadily diminished over four years. The game transitioned from a subscription-based model to a free-to-play format incorporating microtransactions before ultimately closing on November 28, 2018.