UPDATE: Flagship has officially commented on the matter.
Speaking in a post on his blog (which has since been removed but can be viewed here), Somberg suggests that he could soon be the only programmer left working on the game if staff continue to exit the company at the present rate.
“… People are leaving. In droves, they’re leaving. We’ve had programmers, accountants, HR people, and artists leave. The founders are all still around, but they’ve been floating away from Hellgate to work on various other projects.
“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 rumors that other programmers and artists are thinking of leaving… Every time a programmer leaves, it’s more work for me. Every time an artist leaves, it’s less content that we can create for Hellgate in the future.”
Somberg goes on to say that he’s “burned out” by all the extra pressure the departures are putting on him, but adds that he’s happy at the company and still hopes that the game can prove to be successful in the Asian market.
“Hellgate is not a big success… and it’s depressing. I’m keeping a positive attitude about it because of Korea and China. The Koreans really love the game, and the Chinese have yet to see it. I don’t know how any of these deals are structured, but I’m hinging my hopes for Hellgate’s future on the Asian market.”