Following several unofficial closure reports, NCsoft finally confirmed, in a gamingindustry.biz report, "that it is to unify its operations outside of Korea under the tentative banner of NC West," and effectively closing the Austin and Brighton offices. This newly formed subsidiary will be relocated to Seattle by the end of the year and will be headed by current CEO Chris Chung. It's been also confirmed that the Brighton office axed around 70 staff members, while the future of the Austin office employees remains unknown.

Sci-fi MMO Tabula Rasa remains safe and clear from any closure, as several NCsoft staffers confirmed promptly on PlanetTR forums.

Update: Tabula Rasa CM posted assuring that "contrary to what certain articles have claimed, there have been no layoffs for Destination Games today and TR will not be shutting down. There were some minor reductions in other departments here in Austin but this change does not affect TR in any way."

WarCry will keep you updated as more information becomes available.