EverQuest Switching From "Expansions" To "Campaigns"

EverQuest Executive Producer Holly Longdale dropped a missive on the EQ forums this morning that outlined the dev team's plans for content for the game going forward. The gist of it: the same amount of stuff, delivered more frequently.

Campaigns will be twice-yearly update chunks that will serve as the major "new content" delivery systems, allowing the team to provide sizable chunks of new content more quickly and react to player needs in a more agile manner. The crew is also working on a new progression server and a bunch of bug fixes and mission improvements for the April 22 patch. A notable addition in that patch will be loot items that were previously only available through the Legends of Norrath digital TCG.

Daybreak Game Company is already going the DLC route with EverQuest II and DC Universe Online, so it makes a certain amount of sense, but it's still a little weird to think that good ol' EverQuest won't have proper "expansions" any more. Even though the plan is to produce the same amount of overall content, and expansions stopped being something you buy in a physical store a long time ago, making them literally "downloadable content," it just seems to sap some of the excitement that usually accompanies new content releases. It's the right decision, no doubt, but it also seems like the end of an era.