Despite a relatively strong response from most critics at launch (check out ours here), The First Berserker: Khazan seemingly couldn’t replicate that commercially. As result, a “large portion” of developer Neople has been reassigned, according to Yonhap News Agency (translation via Resetera).
About 100 developers worked on Khazan, with an unknown number reportedly moved over to “R Team,” a “transition unit.” Nexon, its parent company, doesn’t officially consider the team dissolved, however (at least, not yet). The “large-scale Khazan project” is instead in its “final stages,” with some personnel left to complete any “remaining tasks.”
“As the roadmap of the large-scale Khazan project has entered its final stages, we decided to separate personnel into those who will focus on completing the remaining tasks and those who will be reassigned to other projects that require concentrated organizational and human resources,” said a spokesperson.
They also said that the company plans to “actively support the reassignment of personnel who gained expertise in completing a global AAA title through the Khazan project, so they can apply their experience and capabilities to other projects.”
You could also view this as Nexon squeezing everything it can out of the title, roughly one year later, and not seeing any further viability in support. And if that’s the case, then a smaller team is better suited to delivering any planned bug fixes or improvements while the majority move on.
Of course, you can’t sugarcoat the fact that this is happening because The First Berserker: Khazan didn’t meet the company’s financial expectations. It’s a shame because it most likely means no DLC, free updates or even a port to platforms like Nintendo Switch 2.
Either way, it’s been a good run. Current owners can claim the Immortal Fury set for free to celebrate its first anniversary and remember the fun times.