It looks like Sony Online Entertainment, developer of games like Everquest, DC Online, and the early access H1N1, will have to change their name. Sony has sold the developer off to Columbus Nova, a venture capital firm, and will rename the developer Daybreak. SOE had been with Sony for somewhere around 20 years and was known as one of the best developers for MMOs and MMOs on consoles. With the typical MMO PC game not raking in cash like Sony might expect it isn’t too shocking to see their long time developer go like this. And on twitter Daybreak’s studio head even openly announced he was excited to begin development for the Xbox.
Daybreak had already been working on the somewhat controversial H1N1 and also known to have started working on two more Everquest titles, Everquest Next and Landmark. Next will be the next MMO out of Daybreak, and presumably will appear on multiple platforms, while Landmark will be a free-to-play sandbox/editing tool that will tie into Next. If you’re wondering if Daybreak will change their update or development practices they had this to say on their official forums:
“So what exactly does this mean for you? It will be business as usual and all SOE games will continue on their current path of development and operation. In fact, we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in.”
Despite the strange H1N1 it seems like Daybreak seems pretty happy to have been sold. It’s sad to see such a fixture of Sony leave the company. I thought having a developer like SOE in your back pocket, making the surprisingly popular DC Online very popular on PS3 and PS4, would be an asset to keep around. But Sony is in a position to focus on what makes them the best and selling SOE doesn’t mean similar games won’t show up on Sony’s consoles in the future. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with these MMOs are available everywhere especially for people who were die hard Sony fans specifically for large, in-depth, games like this.
Personally I’m excited to see what games could now come out for every console and not just sit in the background on the Playstation. And more games on more consoles means, potentially, more revenue for Daybreak in the future. Having more resources is always a good thing for any developer and I’ve gone from speculative about games like Everquest Next to somewhat excited. I’ve never dove deep into Everquest but a brand new one, with the ability to make and create new items or quests myself, seems like something I’d be willing to waste some hours on.
