Developer: Tabula Rasa is down but not out

In the post WoW market, it’s a tough job launching a new MMO. Many have tried, but very few have managed to stay out of obscurity for long and none have had a chance at toppling Blizzard’s giant. Hopes were pinned on Tabula Rasa, which stood out thanks to its backing from MMO legend Richard Garriott (might have gone a bit far putting his name in the actual game title though), but although it signed up plenty of beta testers, it didn’t exactly leap off the shelves.

Damning reports from Korea described the game as a “financial disaster” for publisher NCSoft although the company was keen to downplay them. Now to prove that they are still completely behind the Tabula Rasa project, Producer Starr Long has spoken out on the website’s Dev Corner section, reassuring fans that there is a bright future for the game:

"NCsoft has committed a lot of money and resources into continuing post-launch development of Tabula Rasa. We have been putting new content into the game every few weeks, and we will continue doing just that. We have already added more upper level content and new features like Hybrids, and we’re working on tons of exciting content, such as Personal Armor Units (mechs and mini-vehicles that players can use and will grant them new abilities). "

Long doesn’t skirt the issue of the game fairly flat launch nor the rumours of company lay offs. Naturally, it wasn’t as good as expected – anyone can see that – but it arrived at a time when there were several other well-known IPs dominating the market place. As for the staff layoffs – these are normal in the games industry. You build up levels as launch day approaches then you have to let some go. There will however be a team left in place to oversee ongoing player services.

Whether you want to take this as read and trust that everything is under control is up to you. You can read the full statement here. Either way it does look like for its problems NCSoft will be sticking by its title and ensuring that it has long term prospects for its fans. Now, what I'd really like to see is a trial period, just so that I can see whether it has improved since the beta.

Check out the game here.

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