en masse entertainment
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Blizzard, NCsoft talent form developer En Masse Entertainment
The MMO industry, despite some setbacks over the past year or so, has been growing at a steady rate for some time and doesn't show much sign of slowing. It's hard to argue that two of the most influential companies in that success have been Blizzard Entertainment and NCsoft, with the former keeping a stable of several successful games and the latter running a game well-known enough to not need a mention. So when staffers from both companies join up to form a new development studio, it's worth paying some attention to what the company is doing. En Masse Entertainment, as reported by our sister site Joystiq, has just announced their formation as a company. Their staff includes talent from the aforementioned studios as well as Microsoft, ArenaNet, and Electronic Arts. According to the official press release, their first project is bringing the Korean MMORPG TERA to western audiences -- which might sound like another free-to-play game coming over until you note both the stunning visuals and the fact that it's slated to be a subscription model "like other triple-A titles." We'll be keeping a close eye on the new studio -- it could be a combination that produces some interesting results.
Blizzard, NCSoft talent set up MMO developer En Masse Entertainment
A piping-hot press release from Korean MMO developer Bluehole Studio has announced a new subsidiary for the company named En Masse Entertainment. Based in Seattle, En Masse will focus on "selecting high quality online games and adapting, refining, and positioning them so they are perfectly suited for audiences in Western markets." In other words, slightly reducing the size of everyone's swords. You know, just to the point where it looks reasonable that they could lift them off the ground. According to the presser, the En Masse team features talent from other big players in the MMOverse, including Blizzard, EA, ArenaNet and NCsoft. It sounds like the studio's got a pretty experienced roster; whether or not they'll be able to get us excited about their first project -- a Westernized version of a Korean MMORPG called TERA -- remains to be seen.
