US MMO developer Quest Online has fired its president and co-founder David Allen for insubordination. He has been replaced by Derek Smart, formerly of 3000AD.

Allen’s departure was announced last week after occurring in February but Smart has since reached out to the community of the developer’s debut title, fantasy MMO Alganon, to clarify that the former president was fired. Art director Jason Blood and design director Hue Henry have also left.

"Dave Allen didn't 'depart' I fired him back in February for insubordination and for acting against the best interests of the company, the LLC investors (who I represent), the game and the team," wrote Smart on the Alganon forums (via gamesindustry.biz).

Smart went on to say that Alganon’s launch “should never have happened” as the game was still incomplete.

 

"As a game developer, I know all too well that if your game is not finished and you release it, that's just asking for trouble. No matter how great the game and technology are, it can and will fail. Especially in this industry climate," said Smart.

"You don't go competing with (World of Warcraft) when you don't have a WoW sized budget or the manpower to match. But that's what David wanted to do and I've pretty much tossed it all. The team was unable to actually do this previously due to David wanting it that way, even though they knew it was a terrible decision," he explained.

Smart says that Alganon will undergo sweeping changes in the months to come – including a new user interface that doesn’t so rigorously imitate WoW’s, end paid monthly subscriptions and refund users for their current payments.

These changes are set to take place next month.