The situation surrounding H1Z1 and Everquest developer Daybreak Games is becoming increasingly confusing. Employees have been laid off and the company is reportedly up for sale now. The firm behind Ashes of Creation is said to be interested.
What happened? The U.S. Treasury Department (via Home.treasury.gov) froze the accounts and assets of seven oligarchs and twelve companies in the U.S. due to alleged corruption on April 6. Among them is the property of Viktor Vekselberg. Daybreak Games stated that they have nothing to do with it.
Daybreak Games was “actually” acquired by Columbus Nova in 2015, a company that belongs to the Renova group, which is owned by Viktor Vekselberg.
However, the press release on Daybreak’s website suddenly disappeared, describing that Daybreak was acquired by Columbus Nova. It was allegedly a mistake that remained uncorrected for 3 years. What was announced back then would not be true. We reported on the situation surrounding Daybreak.
Surprising layoffs – Because H1Z1 is doing so poorly?
How has the situation developed? Strangely, just a few days later, several employees of Daybreak were unexpectedly laid off. A total of about 70 employees were affected. According to the company, this is to better position themselves for the future.
However, insiders say the layoffs actually have nothing to do with the situation surrounding Columbus Nova. Allegedly, Daybreak really has nothing to do with this company and the press release was indeed just a mistake that for unknown reasons was not corrected for over 3 years. The layoffs are said to be related to the poor results of H1Z1: H1Z1 had been doing remarkably well for years, then lost 91% of its players to PUBG and Fortnite.
Ashes-of-Creation developers allegedly want to buy Daybreak
Who wants to buy Daybreak? The situation is becoming even more confusing. Insiders claim that Daybreak Games is to be sold. There are reportedly several interested parties, including Intrepid Games. Intrepid Games is known for working on the highly anticipated MMORPG Ashes of Creation. The company, however, did not want to comment on this, as they generally do not comment on rumors.
Many questions remain unanswered:
- How is Daybreak really connected to Columbus Nova?
- Why was the press release secretly deleted?
- Why was the alleged mistake not corrected for years?
- Why are the layoffs happening now?
- Why is the company supposed to be sold?
- Is it really being sold?
We will see if more details come to light in the future and whether there is any truth to the rumor that the Ashes-of-Creation developers want to buy the company.
What the situation means for the games, including the announced PS4 version of H1Z1, is unclear.
