Hellgate: London worries "inaccurate"

Flagship co-founder David Brevik has denied claims that his studio and Hellgate: London are on a slippery downward slope.

He was responding to comments made by in-house programmer Guy Somberg, who posted on his blog that staff were leaving in "droves" and Hellgate was a disappointment, with Flagship a "depressing" place to work.

"Everyone has good days and bad days. Guy was having a bad day," said Brevik. "He vented, exaggerated, and posted information that was inaccurate.

"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.

"It can be difficult to stand by and see something that you put your heart and soul into, week in and week out, get the initial reception Hellgate got. It can put a strain on any developer and some days it can get to you. Thankfully, after some very hard work by all the people here, including Guy, the game is much better now and we believe in the future of Hellgate," he added.

Suggestions that the directors and founders had jumped ship on projects and left Somberg to cope on his own were dismissed as well. Brevik explained that all were either attached to Hellgate: London or free-to-play MMO Mythos, which should enter beta in the next couple of months.

Brevik also said the staff loss problem wasn't as bad as Somberg had made out.

"In total, we have over 100 employees working for both studios," he said. "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," said Brevik.

"The team size for Hellgate is as big now as when we shipped. We are putting all of our efforts into these projects and I think it will show in the upcoming Hellgate Abyss Chronicles."