Destination Games
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1 April 2000 in Austin, Texas, United States |
| Founder | Richard Garriott, Robert Garriott, Starr Long |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Fate | Closed; operations absorbed by NCSOFT West |
| Headquarters | Austin , United States |
Area served | North America |
Key people | Richard Garriott (founder) |
| Products | Tabula Rasa, Dungeon Runners |
| Owner | NCSOFT |
Destination Games was an American video game development company established in April 2000 in Austin, Texas by Richard Garriott, Robert Garriott, and Starr Long following their departure from Origin Systems. The company's name paid homage to their initial firm, Origin.
Specializing in the creation of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), Destination served as the U.S. base for South Korean MMORPG giant NCSOFT during E3 2001, operating under the name NCSOFT Austin. The studio's main responsibility was developing and maintaining the North American versions of NCSOFT's Lineage franchise.
The studio launched its debut game, the science fiction MMORPG Tabula Rasa, in 2007. Although it garnered significant anticipation, the title did not meet sales expectations, which contributed to Richard Garriott leaving NCSOFT in 2008. The game's servers were ultimately closed in February 2009. At the same time, NCSOFT shifted its U.S. headquarters from Austin to Seattle, rebranding as NCSOFT West, and discontinued the Destination Games website.
While NCSOFT Austin retained a small group dedicated to supporting the casual MMO Dungeon Runners, they announced in 2009 that this support would cease in early 2010 due to declining subscriber numbers. By October 2009, roughly 150 employees remained at the former Destination Games facility, focusing on server management, quality assurance, and customer service for various NCSOFT MMO offerings. However, all game development activities had been transferred to other NCSOFT branches located on the West Coast. Ownership of the Destination Games trademark continues with NCSOFT.
Works
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Tabula Rasa | Microsoft Windows | Service ended in 2009 |
| Dungeon Runners | Microsoft Windows | Support concluded in 2010 |
External links
- Destination Games – Redirects users to PlayNC US or PlayNC Europe depending on geographic location.
- Archived version of original homepage: Destination Games, Inc.
- Articles with short description
- NCSoft
- Defunct video game companies of the United States
- Video game development companies
- Video game companies established in 2000
- Video game companies disestablished in 2009
- Companies based in Austin, Texas
- Video game companies based in Texas
- Defunct companies based in Texas
- 2000 establishments in Texas
- 2009 disestablishments in Texas