Yesterday Sony has announced that their online division, Sony Online Entertainment has been sold to an investment company called Columbus Nova and has taken the name Daybreak Game Company LLC.
Online games such as EverQuest, PlanetSide 2, DC Universe Online, H1Z1, Landmark and EverQuest Next will now be under Sony Online Entertainment’s new brand, Daybreak Game Company LLC.
With the completion of this transaction, Daybreak Game Company LLC is now officially an “independent” game development studio that will continue to focus on creating brilliant quality online games; keeping their current heavy fan base and bringing in new ones with the ability to expand into the other gaming communities such as Xbox and mobile gaming.
“Sony Online Entertainment, newly rebranded as Daybreak, is a great addition to our existing portfolio of technology, media and entertainment focused companies. We see tremendous opportunities for growth with the expansion of the company’s game portfolio through multi-platform offerings as well as an exciting portfolio of new quality games coming up, including the recently launched H1Z1 and the highly anticipated EverQuest Next to be released in the near future,” said Jason Epstein, Senior Partner of Columbus Nova. “The recent Early Access launch success of H1Z1 is just one testament to the talent and dedication of the studio’s developers to create great online gaming experiences.”
“We are excited to join Columbus Nova’s impressive roster of companies. They have a proven track record in similar and related industries and we are eager to move forward to see how we can push the boundaries of online gaming,” said John Smedley, President, Daybreak Game Company LLC. “We will continue to focus on delivering exceptional games to players around the world, as well as bringing our portfolio to new platforms, fully embracing the multi-platform world in which we all live.”
What does this mean for current Sony online players? In terms of service, they promise nothing has changed for their current customers and promise a brighter future “..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.” said John Smedley.
Perhaps to some die hard SoE customers, Daybreak will be a failure because they’ve been bought by an investment company however, Columbus Nova’s technology partners include companies like Rhapsody, Rabbit, Fiverr and more.
Regardless of the reasons behind the sale, for the public it simply means that more games will be available to them to play; making the “exclusive” niche pond a thing of the past.