The team at Storybricks is closing down after being unable to find a “home” for the technology fans hoped would revolutionize MMOs.
Storybricks had been a company for five years, primarily tasked with providing the necessary technology for the upcoming MMORPG Everquest Next to usher MMOs into a new era. They promised that the AI would lead to NPCs that behave more naturally and follow their own routines, responding to dynamic events. However, SOE, the company behind Everquest Next, fell into financial trouble in recent years and was sold by Sony to the investment group Columbus Nova and subsequently separated from Storybricks.
They now see no way to monetize their technology, and the extensive traveling required for the job alongside recent developments have led to the closure of Storybricks, as the founders want to focus on other projects. They had been searching for a buyer or a project, even outside of games, but found nothing. The closure of Storybricks was not due to SOE (now DGC) parting ways with them. They had anticipated this step for a long time.
In the meantime, Storybricks (10 employees) even attempted to buy the SOE studio (300 employees) and had investors lined up, but the acquisition failed, just like competing offers, due to inflated demands from Sony Japan. Columbus Nova then received a completely different deal, it is said. Had they taken over SOE, they would have had to lay off employees as well; however, a Storybricks-SOE would have likely parted ways with fewer game developers and more managers.
Storybricks is still looking forward to Everquest Next. Most of the work they have done revolved around Everquest Next, and thus belongs to DGC as well. It can still be reused. They are curious about how the technology they have been working on will appear in a game. The layoffs should not hit the employees too hard. Since they saw it coming for months, all those affected have apparently found new jobs by now.
