RadarX, SoE community manager, just posted a puzzling message on a few of the sony game forums. Apparently SoE has been acquired by the investment firm Columbus Nova and will become Daybreak Game Company. I’ll admit my first response upon reading this was to wonder if April Fools had come in February! Or maybe RadarX’s account has been hacked. I don’t see this announcement anywhere but on the forums – although this post is only an hour old! So maybe more public announcements are forthcoming? It does seem legit though as there is a twitter post from Dave Georgeson about it.
According to what looks like an open letter, nothing will change for the player. All it means is a change in name, and possible access to more resources for game development. Is this a new golden era of gaming? It seems an interesting development given John Smedley and Dave Georgeson’s repeated statements over the past year and more that they want to move gaming forward from the rut it’s been in and into something new again. A complex mix of hope and skepticism is what I’m feeling now, with a dash of humor as I note that DGC could also stand for Dave Georgeson Company.
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
