Earlier this month Sony Online Entertainment was bought out by investment firm, Columbus Nova; you can read about the buyout here. Services on SOE’s online games were to continue on as normal, but as many employees found out this week their future wasn’t so secure.
Several employees at Daybreak Game Company were laid off due to “a strategic decision to rationalize the business,” as stated on Kotaku earlier this week. The exact number of people let go is unknown but Everquest development director, David Georgeson was amongst those to depart at the new company; he confirmed the news via Twitter.
Also, another well known departure was PlanetSide 2 creative director Matthew Higby who decided to leave the company to pursue other ventures; released a statement on Reddit.
Hey guys –
Working on Planetside 2 has been the absolute highlight of my career, but after 4 years working on the game, it’s time for a change. Today was my last day on the Planetside 2 team and at Daybreak games. This is a move I’ve been considering for a while now, and the reorganization provided the right opportunity for me to exit.
The rebranded company now focuses on continuing to maintain Sony’s online games including EverQuest, Planetside 2, and H1Z1. Also they previously mentioned at expanding their game base to Xbox consoles in the future. Please visit the Daybreak Game Company forums for future developments with the company.