SOE Acquired By Columbus Nova

Michael Byrne
By Michael Byrne, Editor in Chief Posted:
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Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is no more, well at least under that name. Sony has sold off the entire division to Columbus Nova, a New York based investment management firm. Effective immediately, the studio will operate under the name Daybreak Game Company.

The announcement appears on every SOE game forum but if you want to check out an example of the post, click here to view the post on the PlanetSide 2 forums.

Daybreak Game Company will be an independent development house and will focus on delivering its current slate of titles while continuing to move forward with games like H1Z1 and Everquest Next. Being independent, Daybreak Game Company will no longer be confined to PC and Playstation products and will be opening up new avenues of development including development for the Xbox One and mobile platforms.

John Smedley, president of Daybreak Game Company said this regarding the transition:

“We are excited to join Columbus Nova’s impressive roster of companies. They have a proven track record in similar and related industries and we are eager to move forward to see how we can push the boundaries of online gaming. We will continue to focus on delivering exceptional games to players around the world, as well as bringing our portfolio to new platforms, fully embracing the multi-platform world in which we all live.”

Is this good news for the company? Sound off below?

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In this article: SOE, Daybreak Game Company.

About the Author

Michael Byrne
Michael Byrne, Editor in Chief

Mike “Magicman” Byrne has been a part of the MMOBomb family for years and serves as the site’s current Editor-in-Chief. His love for MMOs and gaming in general has led him to covering games for numerous gaming websites including Gamebreaker TV and XIV Nation where he proudly displays his fanboy flag for FFXIV:ARR.

More Stories by Michael Byrne

Discussion (31)

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siryuzu 9 years ago
Geez someone was brave enough to buy SoE?
Im not sure whats going to happen now...
wakawaka 9 years ago
I feel bad for all of the chumps that pre-ordered EQ: Next for the early access alpha. One hopes this is a lesson to them about paying for a product that isn't finished but I have a feeling they will never learn.
Freaksnetworkdotnet 9 years ago
i wasent the biggest SOE fan but i played their games from time to time.... it will be sad to see that one go....
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lordnox24 9 years ago
aaaand another development company ruined....bbye SOE. While it wasn't exactly an awesome company like NCSoft, they did make some awesome games including Planetside2 and DC Universe. The MMO industry is getting slowly ruined by pay2win and freemium bullshit. In my opinion games should either be Buy 2 play like GuildWars 2 and now soon ESO. Or Truy free like LOL, Dota2, Aion and Lineage2. I don't mind subscription based games like WOW either but let's face it, the games today don't deserve nearly as much money as some ppl pump in them. For instance i would never pay 12€ a month for some outdated game like WOW. It either goes free to play or blizzard makes a new MMO like it.
Richard 9 years ago
wtf? that is just stupid. poor soe. gg and good bye lol.
Jokul 9 years ago
Riperino SOE
Sir Jaxxy 9 years ago
Having dealt with investment firms like Columbus Nova, in a previous life, I think this is going to be a very sad day for PC gamers. These guys want a fast return on their investment and will start making cuts right away. They will then start adding quick sell items to the cash shop, you know like weapons and armor. Add to that the whole quote "As Well As Bringing Our Portfolio To New Platforms, Fully Embracing The Multi-Platform World In Which We All Live.” and it spells doom. SOE had their faults but in the end they delivered a product that PC gamers wanted to play. I think this whole H1Z1 feeling of "we are going to make the game we want despite our player base" is just the tip of the iceberg. On top of all that by "Fully Embracing The Multi-Platform World In Which We All Live" means the dumbing down and simplifying of our beloved PC games so they become commercially viable for the mobile & console markets.
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fromhelll 9 years ago
Lost me at new york, lost me even more with investment management firm, no i think new york was enough actually. I really hope I'm wrong about this one, SOE was one of the few companies who tried to make big, good games, not just newer and shinier, I would hate to see them going from what they are to another bullshit company like EA, just surviving off of hype.
It'll be a good sign if they keep the same team and continue working on the same projects.
View 1 reply
Razer 9 years ago
RIP in pepperoni, Planetside 2
some random scottish guy 9 years ago
"It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in." Quote from SOE employee.

Yes we do live in a time where cross platform gaming exists and as a PC gamer I can tell you its one thing I am not happy about. Thanks to all this cross platform bullshit we are seeing our games turned into utter garbage and simplified so that any 3 year old could play.

A long time ago in a galaxy not that far away actually.... console gamers wanted cool games like the pc gamers had, now they have there cool games and there a lot easyer to make so the developers all like making shit games these days that take no time at all to spew out.....THE END.

WOOO LONG LIVE CROSSPLATFORM
View 1 reply
Terranova667 9 years ago
Wow never in a million years did i expect Sony to sell one of their own Dev teams like this especially to a company Like Columbus nova a bunch of suits that really couldn't give a crap about gamers or gaming, checking out the guys that own and run it none of them have been involved in gaming in any capacity at all so i don't see where the hell the proven track record of similar industries has any benefit.

They will want return on their investments ASAP it's how these guys work i have dealt with their type in my line of work and they are not the sort that likes to wait around for the money to just trickle in , if anyone is expecting good things to come from this or believe nothing will change I would think again, hopefully I'm wrong but it's a very sad day my hopes for EQ next have just gone down the drain.
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OhGODWHY 9 years ago
Welp, Good bye good games. At first this news seemed OK, not great but I can live with it... But then I read the whole article... " will be opening up new avenues of development including development for the Xbox One and mobile platforms" . The word Mobile platforms dropped just like a hammer and brought me back to reality. I hope I am dead wrong about this, but I feel that the cash shops are gonna get a LOT worse in these games.
View 1 reply
Urs-00 9 years ago
what an amazing news, because while I wait for EverQuest Next, I was thinking to myself "oh, it would be so amazing if I had a generic money-grab crap on my phone" -.-

great, another company controlled by executives that don't care about games, only about money... SOE was far from being amazing, but I think the "mobile" part just show that it can get a lot worse, let's hope that they will only abuse the cash shop of the mobile games

omg, now I'm worried about EQ =(
View 1 reply

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