SOE Sold off by Sony, Now Daybreak Games

The developer formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment, the studio behind Everquest, H1Z1, Planetside 2 and DC Universe, has been sold off by Sony.

...yeah, let that sink in for a moment.

This surprise reveal was announced in a press conference held earlier today, followed by the news that they had been purchased for an unknown amount by a New York-based management firm called Columbus Nova, and will henceforth be acting as an independent studio free from any ties to any major console producers. And since they obviously can’t name themselves SOE anymore, they’re rebranding themselves as Daybreak Game Company LLC.

And it seems they’re taking their divorce from Sony as seriously as one can get—they wasted no time jumping into the Xbox Bandwagon. The president of Daybreak Game Company even tweeted his excitement, saying “can't wait to make Xbox One games!”

And then there was a slightly more formal version, ripped right from the press release:

“With the completion of the transaction, SOE will now operate as an independent game development studio and will continue to focus on creating quality online games, providing excellent service to its extensive player base, while centering on its untapped potential as a multi-platform online gaming company.”

At least there’s no bad blood between Daybreak Games and Sony, as further press material suggested they will continue to develop for the PlayStation as much as they develop for Microsoft’s gaming machine. As usual, the only excluded party was Nintendo, because nobody loves Nintendo.

Sony Online Entertainment was started in the 90’s, and is one of the older game developers in the industry today. It’s exciting to see what they have planned with their new freedom. There’s no word from Sony as to why, exactly, they decided to sell off the company, but it seems like Daybreak isn’t exactly heartbroken about the brake-up, so I suppose for the time being their logic can go unquestioned.