Sony Online Entertainment, best known for making the popular MMO EverQuest, as well as PlanetSide, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, DC Universe Online, the upcoming H1Z1, and others, has been sold to an investment company and renamed.
SOE was sold to Columbus Nova who renamed the gaming developer to Daybreak Game Company. The information was posted on a the H1Z1 subreddit thread and reads:
Dear Players, Partners and Friends,
Today, we are pleased to announce that we have been acquired by Columbus Nova, an investment management firm well known for its success with its existing portfolio of technology, media and entertainment focused companies. This means that effective immediately SOE will operate as an independent game development studio where we will continue to focus on creating exceptional online games for players around the world, and now as a multi-platform gaming company. Yes, that means PlayStation and Xbox, mobile and more!
As part of this transition, SOE will now become Daybreak Game Company. This name embodies who we are as an organization, and is a nod to the passion and dedication of our employees and players. It is also representative of our vision to approach each new day as an opportunity to move gaming forward.
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.
Our games and players are the heart and soul of our organization, and we are committed to maintaining our portfolio of online games and pushing the limits of where we can take online gaming together.
Thank you for your continued support. See you in game!
The Team at Daybreak
John Smedley, president of Daybreak Game Company, was quick to tweet about the sale.
can’t wait to make Xbox One games!— John Smedley (@j_smedley) February 2, 2015
and followed up with:
2) Yes, we want to bring our games to Xbox One in addition to PS4. — John Smedley (@j_smedley) February 2, 2015
When asked if this meant the Xbox One could see DC Universe Online, Smedley replied:
@RowlonRowley yes
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) February 2, 2015
Players of the existing set of
Sony Online Entertainment
Daybreak Game Company’s games need not fret as Smedley also assured gamers that nothing has changed, although Station Cash – their virtual in-game currency – will be getting a rebranding soon.
It will be interesting to see if this transaction and expanded release base will help the company have better success with some of its intellectual properties that have struggled in the past. I’m curious to see how long it will be before they announce EverQuest Next and H1Z1 for the Xbox One.
What do you think about Sony selling off Sony Online Entertainment? While good news for players of other gaming systems, could this just be the start of more sell offs by Sony? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.
Source: Reddit
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