Some PC gamers have profited from the not-quite-virtual economies of games like Team Fortress 2 and Diablo 3. Sony Online Entertainment's stable of MMOs will soon offer in-game item creation and marketplace sales as well, thanks to the upcoming "Player Studio" announced by the publisher today.

The Studio will let players download sample geometry for in-game objects, design and personalize their item, write a short description, and then submit it to SOE for review. If it makes the cut, it will be sold on the marketplace and the creator will get 40% of the item's net sales.

Read more: EverQuest to get Studio first »

MMO's are fun and all, but imagine if there was technology to bring your face into the game. Sony Online Entertainment has taken a big step towards perfecting that technology with its new SOEmote software, which they showed off for EverQuest at this year's E3.

By using any available webcam, the SOEmote can capture 5,000 facial elements and scrunch them down to 64 nodes. The result pastes the player's face on an actual game character. On top of that, it follows the face's movement, capturing full facial movement in real-time. I tried out the software earlier this week and marveled as the software tracked my head's every move, right down to my eyebrows.

Read more: Making silly faces »

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the annual event previously known as "Fan Faire" has been redubbed "SOE Live." Plans are underway for this year's event, which will take place October 18-21 at Bally's in Las Vegas. As usual, it will cover the gamut of SOE's various offerings, including DC Universe Online, EverQuest II, Free Realms, Magic: The Gathering - Tactics, and more.

Read more: New name to reflect broader SOE line-up »

The free-to-play launch of EverQuest will come almost exactly 13 years after the pioneering MMORPG's original release, SOE has revealed. It first arrived on March 16, 1999 with a $10 monthly subscription (gradually raised to $15), and will go F2P on March 15, 2012. How time flies!

Read more: SOE hopes to boost player base »

Though EverQuest II's initial free-to-play offering launched in August 2010, the original EverQuest still clung to the classic monthly subscription model. To live is to change, the saying goes, and Sony Online Entertainment's iconic MMORPG will turn those subs optional "early March," welcoming in new blood as the thirteen year old EverQuest goes F2P.

Read more: Tiered membership and microtransactions »

MMO magpie Sony Online Entertainment has relaunched its 'Station Access' subscription under the new name 'All Access' and knocked $10 off the monthly price. It includes membership to ten SOE games, four of them free-to-play, for only $5 per month more than a single subscription.

An All Access sub will let you play DC Universe Online on PC, EverQuest, EverQuest II, EverQuest Online Adventures for PlayStation 2, PlanetSide, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes with the single subscription fee. Read more »

Sony Online Entertainment is still down following the hack of SOE and PlayStation Network. In an update, Sony outlined the make-good rewards it plans to dole out for its various franchises.

Each of the game-specific rewards will be available on both PC and PlayStation 3, as applicable. You'll also get 30 days free added to your subscription, on top of a free day for each that the system was down. So far, SOE has been down almost two weeks, so that's a month and a half of free time and counting. Read more »

[Update 12:30pm - XdM] An anonymous source at Sony Online Entertainment tells Shacknews that rumors of layoffs and the cancellation of The Agency are accurate. According to the source, a number of the layoffs also reduced the size of the EverQuest 2 team and although the Planetside Next team also took some layoffs, the project is alive and well. Read more »

Believe it or not, the original EverQuest is still up and running some eleven years after its original release. And to celebrate that anniversary, digital distributor Steam has bundled up the aging PC MMO, fifteen of its expansions, and two exclusive items for just $2.50--a discount of nearly 88% (over the usual $19.99) that will run until March 26.

Read more »

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it's partnering with gamer-driven charity Child's Play again in an effort to raise up to $50,000 for its "2nd Annual Virtual Fundraising Drive."

From December 17th through January 17th, SOE will donate $10 to the charity each time a player purchases or gifts special Child's Play virtual items in the MMO's EverQuest, EverQuest II, and Free Realms using Station Cash (SOE's in-game currency). Read more »