NCsoft cements their commitment to the City of Heroes franchise today, officially changing the name of development team NCsoft NorCal to Paragon Studios.
Paragon Studios gets its name from Paragon City, the central location in NCsoft's massively multiplayer online superhero game. NCsoft NorCal was formed in Mountain View, California in 2007, when NCsoft took over development chores on the City of Heroes series from original game developer Cryptic Studios.
"The renaming of our studio to Paragon Studios represents our devotion to the present and future of the City of Heroes series," said Brian Clayton, general manager of Paragon Studios and executive producer for the City of Heroes franchise. "As pioneers in the comic book-inspired MMO genre, together with our esteemed veteran development team, it is our mission to continually strive for innovation, solidify the strength of our brand, and continue providing high quality experiences for City of Heroes and any future projects that come from Paragon Studios."
Singling out the City of Heroes development team and granting them their own unique identity is a major mark of confidence in the team's abilities from NCsoft proper. Recognition well-deserved, considering the team is responsible for one of the few subscription-based MMOs from NCsoft that hasn't tanked in the past few years. Congratulations, Paragon Studios!