Report: Daybreak Game Company issues layoffs, including EQ Next Director

Casualties have hit the newly-dubbed Daybreak Game Company. One of those is the Director of Development for EverQuest Next and Landmark.

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Last week, Sony Online Entertainment became Daybreak Game Company. With no details given, there was an assumption that business would go on as usual, but that quickly changed today. The studio suffered massive layoffs, including EverQuest Next and Landmark Director of Development Dave Georgeson.

Georgeson confirmed his departure on Twitter earlier today. A report from Kotaku notes that positions have been eliminated throughout Daybreak's Austin and San Diego offices.

While it is unknown how this will affect the current slate of games, including H1Z1 that's in Steam Early Access, PlanetSide 2 that's currently in beta on Playstation 4, and the aforemention EQ Next that's still in development, the staffs of those respective games appear to be getting shaken up. While Creative Director of PlanetSide 2 Matt Higby's job appears to be safe, he sums up on Twitter that the losses will be felt throughout the studio.

Shacknews will monitor this situation and report back with any further information.

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Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

From The Chatty
  • reply
    February 11, 2015 11:55 AM

    Ozzie Mejia posted a new article, Report: Daybreak Game Company issues layoffs, including EQ Next Director

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      February 11, 2015 12:16 PM

      i hope they all get scooped up super soon. :(

    • reply
      February 11, 2015 3:24 PM

      I'm really curious about the business side of this.

      1) Sony sold SOE
      1a) It wasn't doing well
      1b) Daybreak threw the kitchen sink
      duh - more than likely 1a

      2) Why did Daybreak buy it?
      2a) people? - heh... not usually especially if they cut labor
      2b) IP?
      2c) tech?

      I'm guessing 2b since they didn't value the people or leadership. Tech is kinda an option with the new stuff being developed for EQN, and it's plausible they have a better use for that tech than what SOE was doing. i think the safe money is on the IP. They want to do something with probably the EQ brand. OR, they think EQN/Landmark is going to be a hit but isn't being managed well.

      3) how do they expect to turn it around if 1a is correct?
      IDK... probably depends on #2

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