As a result of a Q&A session on Reddit, John Smedley, the President of Sony Online Entertainment, answered several questions from the community – logically, it mainly focused on games from SOE’s portfolio.
It is also not surprising that participants showed particular curiosity regarding the sandbox MMO Everquest Next .
Particularly interesting was the question about the release date for Everquest Next, the next installment of the well-known role-playing series. The answer sounds initially vague, but it provides insight that it will likely be in 2015. John Smedley, President of SOE, said:
Not yet sure. Probably sometime next year.
In addition, he also answered what he believes truly defines EQ Next. He suggested that it is not the destructible environment, but the artificial intelligence that makes the biggest difference and will bring about a revolution in the MMO genre.
Furthermore, John Smedley confirmed that Everquest Next will also be playable on the Playstation 4 . Reactions were quite mixed. Personally, I view this somewhat critically because I feel that role-playing games lose some depth due to ‘console ports’. Perhaps I will be proven wrong.
Update: 8 months later, there was another statement that was somewhat more reserved, so no trace of “probably”. He answered the question about the release in an interview with PCGamer as follows (in the video at about 10:16 minutes): “…not before next year”. That sounds like “Could come in 2015, but at the moment, it is still very far away”.
And what about Everquest Next: Landmark?
For all those who are a little sad about having to wait until next year for Everquest Next, there is good news. The sandbox game with its seemingly endless possibilities, yes, it is about Everquest Next: Landmark, is releasing this year – in 2014 (as Beta)!
Would you like to learn more about the games mentioned here? Then we can recommend you our special on Everquest Next!Everquest Next and Everquest Next: Landmark are, by the way, two different MMOs!
