A shocking news for all EverQuest fans: David Georgeson, head of the entire Everquest franchise and thus responsible for EverQuest Next as well as Landmark, has left Daybreak Games (formerly Sony Entertainment Games). He also confirmed this via Twitter.
It has now become known: Additionally, further reputable employees have been laid off – from developers to story writers to producers, it’s all included.
… and now?
It is never a good sign when a lead developer and other well-known employees leave the ship. Many fans now fear that the end of the series is approaching. But it is still too early to speak of a sinking ship with EverQuest Next. Ben Burnett, a developer at Daybreak Games, is confident and gives fans hope on Twitter.
John Smedley, CEO of Daybreak Game Company, remains calm as well and reveals that the largest development team of the game studio is still working on EverQuest Next.
Similar statements can also be found at Landmark: Here, it should continue to be developed diligently, albeit on a different schedule – at least according to developer Fairan in the official forum. Nevertheless, the developments at the studio with the former name Sony Online Entertainment reveal a lot: As “White Knight” the investment company saved a large part of the company, yet some employees had to go.
One can only hope that EverQuest Next and Landmark do not have to suffer too much in the long run under these circumstances.
