The house of Richard "Lord British" Garriott is getting some major renovations in both its studio structure and the types of titles it produces.

NCsoft, which owns and controls what were several different studios, including Garriott's, has combined all of its Western efforts into a single brand. NC Austin, formerly known as Destination Games, NC Europe and ArenaNet will all be consolidated under a new name, NC West. The brand will be based in Seattle, where a headquarters will be established by late 2008. Despite the new headquarters, the offices in Austin and Europe will remain open.

According to NCsoft's press release, CEO TJ Kim has a team already in place to lead the new brand. "NC West will be led by Chris Chung as CEO, Jeff Strain as president, product development, David Reid as president, publishing, and Patrick Wyatt as CTO as well as yet unannounced European executives," the company stated. The NCsoft CEO also had some kind words regarding the new NC West CEO. ""We are confident that by combining our subsidiaries into a unified global organization under Chris Chung's leadership, NC West will become a more powerful force to be reckoned with in the Western MMO market," Kim said in a press statement. "Chris has become a guiding force within our company and has been extremely successful at every position he has held with us. His detailed first-hand knowledge of all aspects of our business is invaluable and will help establish NC West as a global leader."

As if a massive restructuring wasn't enough news for one day, NCsoft also announced its intention to focus primarily on triple-A titles like Guild Wars and Tabula Rasa. This most likely signifies an end to the free-to-play titles for which NCsoft is also known. To make way for all the changes, over 50 positions in NC Europe and a dozen more in NC Austin are potentially being cut. Reid also said that the jobs being cut in Europe would come from an unannounced title and would not affect any titles already released or announced. Amid all the restructuring news, no light was shed on Garriott's latest MMO Tabula Rasa, which is rumored to possibly shut down sometime in the coming months due to lack of fanfare.