Trion closing San Diego studio, relocates Defiance and End of Nations development

Trion Worlds will close its San Diego, Calif.-based studio, the company confirmed to Polygon today, and relocate operations of two of its games, Defiance and End of Nations to its Redwood City headquarters.

"We can confirm that the San Diego studio will be closing," an official statement reads. "The day to day operations of Defiance will be moved to our Redwood City studio where it can be managed alongside Rift and our other in-development titles including ArcheAge and End of Nations. As part of this transition, we are working hard to ensure that a number of great people will be making the move from San Diego to the Bay Area and continue their work at Trion."

Earlier today, Trion announced it was appointing former chief creative officer and Rift executive producer Scott Hartsman as its new CEO, effective immediately.  "We're going to be laying the groundwork for a new strategy for Trion," Hartsman said in an email to employees, "one that's closer to the foundation of how we've had our wins so far, and then extending that base into the enduring success this company can, and will, be."

Trion announced in June it was transitioning End of Nations from a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game to a MOBA-style title. The company launched Defiance, the online sci-fi multiplayer shooter tied to the Syfy television series of the same name, earlier this year.