Hellgate: London was a game with a lot of hype around it and there seemed to be an expectation floating around that Hellgate: London could be the spiritual successor to Diablo II. Obviously though things didn't quite pan out like that for the game and the launch especially was savaged by critics.

So, the question is now; What will happen to developer Flagship Studios? Will the developer ironically find itself being flagshipped after the botched launch?

Well, apparently things aren't looking too good over at Flagship and in a blog post which has since been retracted Flagship's audio and gameplay manager Guy Somberg has voiced a few of his concerns and admitted that work at the studio has become depressing for many.

"Thing is, the way things are going I’m likely to be the only programmer still working on Hellgate left from the original crew. I’ve heard rumours that other programmers and artists are thinking of leaving," said Somberg even though he said he loved being a part of the Flagship team.

Games blog Kotaku had their interest piqued at this comment though and decided to reach out and get a comment from the developer. In a statement to the site Web Manager Ivan Sulic tried his best at damage control.

"We've actually had very few people leave. Flagship is still fully staffed and working on both Hellgate and Mythos... I think we have about 100 employees now."

"People finish a game, want to work on something else, and then leave to do just that. It's pretty typical in this industry. I don't know the exact number, but we couldn’t have had more than five or six departures. Still, if those five or six dudes are people you work with everyday, it can't feel great."

What did you think of Hellgate: London? Let us know in the forums.